Sarah vs the Switch
by Wepdiggy
Summary: Sarah wakes up in a strange bed, in a strange room, and in a strange...body? What has happened to turn Sarah into Anna and vice versa? Cover by Frea O'Scanlin.
1. The Setup

_Disclaimer: I don't own "Chuck", or the movie(s) Freaky Friday. _

_A/N: Okay, so a reviewer, __**Fire From Above **__sent me a prompt in a PM for a fic in which Sarah and Anna switched places ala Freaky Friday. It seemed like a cute idea, and something that could be fun to write, so I decided to do it. I suspect these chapters will generally be pretty short at first, as I have a lot on my writing plate right now, but I will update this every Friday until it's done, in sticking with the Friday theme that it's taken from. That said, hopefully it will still be enjoyable. Also, I'm looking for any and all feedback on this. It will certainly effect the course of this story. What are some thins you'd like to see? I hope you enjoy this, and please review. Thanks!

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**Chapter 1: The Setup  
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**Sarah's awakening…**

Sarah awoke with a start. Something wasn't right, and she instinctively reached under her pillow for a weapon, but there was no knife there. She then realized that she was completely naked, which wouldn't have been a total shock, except that there was another body in the bed with her.

She squeezed her eyes shut, and began to go back through the previous night in her mind. Chuck had come over to her hotel room after a late mission debriefing, and they'd shared a pizza. But Chuck had gone home, hadn't he?

She couldn't believe that she'd let herself slip, that she'd allowed Chuck to stay over, and judging by her current state of undress, that she'd allowed Chuck, and allowed herself to do...well, what people generally did before waking up sans clothes.

Sarah covered her face with her hands, and slowly began to open her eyes to assess the damage. But wait, those weren't her hands. And the person next to her didn't feel like Chuck. And this wasn't her hotel room.

Sarah bolted upright in bed. Her eyes began to dart around the room, taking in the strange environment. Then a voice spoke from behind her.

"Uggh," someone groaned. "What's wrong, babe?" asked a sleepy voice. But the voice was familiar. It sounded like…

"Morgan?" Sarah asked with a shriek, turning over to see that it was in fact Morgan that she was sharing a bed with.

Then she saw it, in a mirror overlooking the headboard. She wasn't herself at all. She wasn't tall and blonde, she was a short woman of Asian descent. She was…

"Anna? Are you alright?"

And then Sarah fainted.

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**Anna's awakening…**

Anna felt the first light of dawn creep in through the window and lay down upon her face. Not ready to get up yet, she burrowed deeper under the covers, and slid her hand under her pillow. But then she felt something sharp cut into her finger.

Anna jumped up in the bed, pulling the pillow away to reveal a very big, very scary knife. She looked down at her hand to see blood seeping from her finger. But wait, that wasn't her finger, and those weren't her hands. And come to think of it, this wasn't her bed and she wasn't in her room. And where was Morgan?

Anna quickly got up from the strange bed and staggered across the room to find a mirror. But she didn't see herself in the reflection. The person staring back at her was a tall, blonde haired, blue eyed beauty. She was Sarah Walker. _Holy shit! It worked?

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**The previous night…**

Okay, so Anna didn't really believe it would work, but she'd been going to those Wiccan meetings for months, so it was time to give some of the things she'd learned a little field test. And if she was going to try something out, it only made sense to try a big one.

One of the biggest rules that she'd been hit over the head with time and again was that any spell you cast needs to do no harm to the one you cast it on. Whatever a witch cast on someone will come back on the witch threefold, so it wouldn't do to try to do in Jeff or something like that. She needed to try to help someone.

Then a conversation she'd had with Sarah Walker the previous day came to her mind. Sarah had been depressed about something, though she wouldn't tell Anna what was wrong. But in a rare moment of weakness, Sarah had admitted that sometimes, she just wished she could be someone else, and know a simpler life.

So Anna decided that her spell would be to help Sarah Walker become someone else.

She lit two candles, one white and one red, and began a chant.

_I ask that the Universe free Sarah Walker of her troubles  
That she could experience what it is like to be someone else  
That she could know a life without burden  
That she could be someone else, someone with a simpler life_

When she'd finished the spell, Anna extinguished the candles, and began to prepare for her date with Morgan. She didn't think any more about the spell for the rest of the night. There was no way it would work, right?

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_A/N: So what did you think? Is all of this worth continuing? Is this a good idea at all? I'm looking for some feedback here. You guys are awesome. Peace. _


	2. Sort of Swingers

_Disclaimer: I still don't own Chuck or the Freaky Friday concept, and I think that's going to be made obvious by the mass confusion of this chapter, haha._

_A/N: First of all, thank you to **MXPW** for giving me some cool ideas for what to do with this fic. You're always a huge help, bro, and I don't know if I could write nearly as much, and certainly not as well without your help. Okay, so I've developed a different policy with this fic than with most of the ones I'm writing. I'm going to play it kind of fast and loose with this one. A real write and then post mentality. What this means is, you'll never have to wait longer for an update than what's scheduled (every Friday), but some of the writing may lack polish. Hopefully that won't detract from your enjoyment of the story. It's just that when I try to think about what I'm writing with this one, I get confused. So I'm going to write it by the seat of my pants, and then publish immediately upon finishing. Again, I hope you enjoy the story still, and thanks for reading, and please review. Thanks!_

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**Chapter 2: Sort of Swingers**

Sarah felt herself waking once again. She kept her eyes shut, silently pleading with whatever higher being might be listening that what she'd seen before had just been a dream. A bad, bad dream. She didn't want to be Anna. Nothing against Anna, but Sarah had grown used to being who she was.

But that wasn't the part that bothered her most. She didn't want to be naked and in bed with Morgan. But unfortunately, she didn't feel a lot different than she had in her "dream", which more often times than not meant it wasn't a dream at all.

Then Sarah felt someone shaking her.

"Anna," Morgan said. "Anna, wake up, babe. Are you feeling alright?"

Sarah shook her head back and forth to try to shake her current situation from being, but it wasn't working.

"Morgan," Sarah croaked, her voice still tinged with sleep.

"Oh, Anna! You're awake! I was getting worried."

His hand was still on her shoulder, and he was shaking her. Sarah wasn't sure if it was the shaking motion, or the close physical contact with Morgan, but she was starting to feel sick.

"Morgan stop it!" she yelled

"Anna banana, it's me. Please, just tell me what's wrong."

He continued to touch her, and Sarah started inching away. She made sure the sheets still covered her body, as no matter whose body she was in, she didn't want Morgan looking at it.

"Morgan don't touch me!" she seethed.

"Anna-"

"I'm not Anna!"

Sarah wasn't sure what was going on, but one thing she was certain of: she wasn't Anna Wu. Oh, she might look like Anna, and she might be in Anna's bed, and she might be sharing that bed with Morgan Grimes. But she was still Sarah Walker.

"Oh, role playing. Daddy likes!" Morgan said excitedly. He reached for Sarah once again, this time more aggressively. And that was the last straw.

Sarah swung her fist hard at Morgan's head, catching him right on the temple, and knocking him unconscious.

"Shit!" she swore. That might have been a little over the top.

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Okay, it was a little freaky waking up as someone else, but Anna could get used to this. Sarah's bed was very comfortable. And having laundry and turn-down service in her home would be a welcome comfort.

Already Anna had enjoyed a room service breakfast of French toast with whipped crème and strawberries. It had been fantastic. She'd looked around for Sarah's credit card, but the man at the front desk had assured her that everything would be put on her expense account, like always.

Anna wasn't sure exactly what kind of food service employee could afford living in a swanky hotel like this, and on top of that had an expense account. Or for that matter, what kind of food service employee was so well armed (on top of the knife and the gun, Anna had found a number of throwing knives in Sarah's underwear drawer in an ankle sheath), but she liked it. This was a life she could get used to. Anna didn't know why Sarah was complaining about her life, but she hoped the former blonde was having as much fun in her body as she was having in Sarah's.

Anna looked over at the clock. _Seven fifty-five. I need to get ready for work._

Then something occurred to her: where was she supposed to work? She couldn't very well show up at the Buy More as Sarah Walker and expect no one to notice. And even though Sarah apparently had a Nerd Herd uniform in her closet, which Anna reasoned was some fantasy game Sarah played with Chuck, it still didn't seem like the proper course of action. If she had to be Sarah, Anna was going to play it to the bone. She'd go to work at the Orange Orange, and try to make a day.

Pulling out the orange tank top, the white Capri pants, the orange and blue Chuck Taylor All-Stars, and the blue hoodie from Sarah's close and laying it all on the giant king-sized bed, something else sprung to Anna's mind. One of the other perks to being Sarah Walker was driving the Porsche. Of course, that would be a bit of a problem for Anna, seeing as she never learned to drive a stick.

_Dammit!_

She till hadn't found Sarah's wallet, so there would be no way to pay for a bus, or a cab. There was really only one option.

"Hello?" said a voice that had clearly just woken up.

"Hey, Chuck. Listen, I need you to do me a favor."

"Sarah?" Chuck asked, still trying to shake the cob webs of sleep.

"Yes, it's Sarah," Anna half lied. "I know it's early, and I don't think you had to work today –"

"You mean to tell me you don't have my work schedule memorized?" Chuck asked, almost harshly.

Anna was taken aback by Chuck's tone. Why would he talk to Sarah like that? Maybe there was a reason Sarah wanted out of her life, and a mean boyfriend could be just that. And it surprised Anna a bit. She'd always thought Chuck was a really great guy. She never pegged him for mistreating Sarah. Well, she'd have to see to that later. Now, she needed a way to work.

"Umm, yeah, I'm sorry about that. But listen, Chuck. My car is…broken, and I need a ride to work. Is there any way you could swing by here and pick me up? You know, since I'm your girlfriend…Sarah."

Chuck stared at his phone for a moment. Sarah wasn't acting weird today, to be sure. He couldn't figure out what was going on, and he didn't know if he should go investigate. Maybe it was a trap, and Sarah was trying to warn him by acting strangely. But she wouldn't tell him to come to her hotel unless she actually wanted him there. She wouldn't trust him to pick up on the clues not to come. So she wanted him to come, but maybe not for the reason she asked. Okay, now Chuck was just confusing himself.

"I'll, um, be over in about twenty. See you soon?"

"Bye Chuck," Anna said. But wait, is that how Sarah would say goodbye to him? Time to cover yourself, Anna. "I love you."

Now Chuck knew something was up. Even if he had his suspicions that Sarah might feel that way, she'd never once said she loved him, and certainly not in such nonchalant fashion. He hung the phone up quickly, afraid of what other shocking things would happen if he continued listening, and he started getting ready for work. He didn't know why Sarah wanted him over at her hotel, but he had every intention of figuring out what was going on.

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Tentatively, Chuck knocked on Sarah's door. One thing about Sarah: even after over two years working together, two years of friendship, and countless instances of almost more, she still caused him to get butterflies in his stomach. Of course, this particular morning, there was more reason for him to be nervous than normal. There was no telling what Sarah was hiding from him that she couldn't tell him over the phone.

The door swung open, and there stood Sarah, in all her yogurt-girl goddess glory.

"Hey Chuck!" she greeted brightly. Anna reasoned that there was no sense in cluing Chuck into what was going on just yet. He may have acted a bit cold earlier, but the look of awe on his face now was enough to let Anna know that he still cared about her…well, who he thought she was.

"Sarah…is something wrong?" Chuck asked, looking around the hotel room.

"No, nothing's wrong, babe. C'mere" she commanded, kissing him lightly.

Okay, now Chuck _knew_ something was up. That wasn't how Sarah greeted him at all.

"Sarah, there's, um, no one around. I don't think there's any need for that."

"What are you talking about Chuck? I like kissing you, because I'm Sarah. Your girlfriend," Anna said. Okay, so maybe she was going a bit overboard on selling it, but if she was going to be someone else, and get a free pass on a little outside loving while she wasn't really herself, she was certainly going to take advantage of it. If only Chuck would cooperate.

Chuck was in a weird place. Something was definitely wrong with Sarah. But he happened to like whatever was wrong with her. It made her talk about her emotions, to the point of telling him that she loved him, and made her greet him with a kiss. In fact, she would probably be open to… _No Chuck! That would be wrong. You can't take advantage of Sarah in her current condition. Whatever it is._

But Chuck had no choice. Sarah…or who he thought was Sarah pulled him to her by his tie, and laid another kiss on him, this one much more heated. It wasn't her normal kiss, either. Something was different this morning, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. And honestly, he couldn't think straight enough to even try to put his finger on it. If Sarah wanted to kiss him, who was he to complain?

So Chuck kissed her back, with fervor.

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_A/N: Okay, that's chapter two. Confused yet? God knows I am, haha. I look forward to your feedback, and you guys are awesome. Peace. _


	3. Revelations

_A/N: Alrighty folks, I didn't know if I was ever going to update this story again, but then I started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I know, I'm like REALLY late to the party, but that's kind of what I do), and after watching 4.15 and 4.16 (This Year's Girl, and Who Are You?), I was suddenly motivated to try to write this again. Of course, neither Sarah nor Anna are as batshit crazy as Faith was at that point, but I guess that's not really important, haha. Anyway, yeah, so I decided to write this again. It's still done in the write and then post format, so there's sure to be errors. I'll fix 'em as I find 'em. Oh, and I hope you enjoy it, and please leave a review. Thanks!

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**Sarah vs. the Switch chapter 3: Revelations**

When Morgan came to, he found himself in the passenger seat of Anna's Herder. He looked over and sure enough, Anna was behind the wheel, but she had an unusually determined look on her face. And her arms were tense as she latched onto the wheel. And now that he thought about it, they seemed to be going _really_ fast.

No sooner had he thought about just how fast they seemed to be going, than Anna slung the Toyota into a turn at full speed, the tires squealing in protest.

"Anna?" Morgan asked in a frightened voice.

"What is it, Morgan?" Sarah asked through clenched teeth, still not wanting to admit that what was happening was real.

"Um, why are you in such a hurry? And why aren't we headed towards the store?"

Sarah sighed. "To answer your first question, I have someone I need to see about something, and it's urgent. As to the second, well, I think I answered that, too."

"Who do you need to see?" Morgan asked.

"Why do you ask so many damn questions?" was Sarah's reply.

"Are you mad at me?" Morgan said, sounding dejected.

Sarah looked over at the little bearded man and could see the hurt on his face. It really wasn't her job to comfort him, but then again, it wasn't _his_ fault that whatever happened had happened. "No Morgan," Sarah droned. "I'm not mad at _you_. There are just things going on, and I'm upset about that, and we'll talk about it later, alright?"

Okay, that last part was a lie. Sarah had no intention of ever talking to Morgan about what was going on, but if things got back to normal soon, she wouldn't have to be the one to talk to him. She could leave that up to the real Anna.

"If something's wrong, you know you can talk to me, right?" Morgan asked.

Sarah smiled a little. It really was a sweet thing for Morgan to say. If she didn't know what a disgusting little troll he could be, she would almost understand what Anna saw in him. "Thank you," Sarah said simply, before focusing her attention back on the road. She really needed to find Anna to make this all right.

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Chuck was lightheaded. Sarah's lips always seemed to have that effect on him, but this was different than times before. First of all, the kissing had led them both to a horizontal position: Chuck on the bed, Sarah on Chuck. Also, it was different this time because Sarah seemed intent on removing Chuck's clothes. What the hell had gotten into her? And more over, why did he care?

But as much as he wanted her to continue. As much as he wanted what was happening to continue, his conscience won out, and he broke away from her lips.

"Sarah? Um, don't you have to get to work?" he asked breathlessly.

"Meh, I'll call in," Anna said, and she tried to kiss him again.

"But don't we have a briefing at eight thirty?" he asked avoiding the kiss.

"I'm sorry, a briefing?" Anna asked, clearly confused.

"Yeah, you know, Beckman?" Anna still looked confused. "In Castle?"

"Oh, Castle? Like with kings and queens and stuff? You want to role play?" she asked.

"What? No!" Chuck exclaimed. "Just, we should probably get going."

Anna didn't know what Chuck was playing at, but then again, Sarah Walker had always been a bit of a mystery, so she decided to just play along.

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When Herder 6 screeched to a halt outside Sarah's hotel, Morgan immediately jumped out of the car and began kissing the ground. Sarah chuckled to herself a little at the sight. Everyone just isn't cut out for a life of adventure and excitement. In fact, it wasn't that long ago that Chuck himself had been terrified by Sarah's driving of a Herder. Of course at that time they were being chased by a crazed John Casey, and Chuck didn't really know what was going on.

The fact that her Porsche was still in its spot was a good thing. It meant that her body was most probably still in the room, presumably under the control of Anna, so soon Sarah could find out what the hell was going on.

Sarah sprinted through the parking lot, into the lobby, and into the first available elevator. She took it up to the eighth floor, and ran down the hall to her room.

She pounded on the door. "Anna!" she yelled. "Anna, I know you're in there! Get your – I mean _my_ ass out here!"

There was no answer. Sarah put her ear against the door and heard no movement inside the room. "Anna!" she yelled again.

Still there was no reply, so Sarah was left with no other option but to break the damn door down. Taking a deep breath, and a step back, she prepared herself before delivering a hard kick to the green wooden door, and sure enough it gave with just one blow. Sarah silently thanked Anna for keeping her body in decent shape. It wouldn't do to be a weakling, even temporarily.

Once the door was open, Sarah was disappointed to find that no one was there. She saw that her closet had been left open, and unfortunately, it appeared that her Orange Orange uniform had been taken out. Would Anna have gone to work _as_ Sarah?

She continued looking about the room, searching for clues as to where the other woman may have gone in her body. The bed wasn't made, and the sheets had been thoroughly ruffled, but there was something else amiss about the king-sized bed. There was something there that shouldn't have been there. That something meant that there had been someone that shouldn't have been there.

It was Chuck's Nerd Herd identification card. On her bed. Chuck had been in her room. On her bed. With Anna, who he thought was Sarah.

_Shit!_

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When they pulled into the Buy More Plaza, Chuck got out of the car and started walking towards the Orange Orange. It was a little strange to Anna, but still, it was really sweet that Chuck walked his girlfriend to work, she reasoned.

She followed in step as the came to the door to the yogurt shop. But then something very weird happened: Chuck unlocked the door. Why would he have a key to the store? And further, once they were inside, why was John Casey behind the counter waiting? And also, why were they going into the freezer? And, holy shit, there's a hidden door inside the freezer? Oh yeah, and what the hell was this place?

"Mr. Bartowski, Agent Walker, so nice of you to finally join us," said a woman in military dress uniform on the monitor inside of, well, whatever this place was.

"Who are you?" Anna asked. Then: "And what do you mean _Agent_ Walker?"

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_A/N: That's all for now, folks. Only one more day until season 3! You guys are awesome. Peace. _


	4. Sorry I Missed Ya

_A/N: Yay for me! I actually got an update done on time like I said I would, haha. So anyway, I hope you enjoy it, and please leave me a review. Thanks!_

_A/N2: Okay guys, so I signed up for something over at Live Journal, where basically, a bunch of fanfic authors (from tons of fandoms) are going to be writing fic in exchange for donations to the relief effort for earthquake victims in Haiti. The highest bidder gets to request a pairing, a prompt, and get a fic written just for them. My only stipulation is that I will only write a pairing involving one Agent Sarah Walker. You can find a link to my post on my profile page, and from there, you can access all the authors that are offering to write for you (you know, if you don't want me). I encourage all of you to go bid, if not on me, on someone, and to help make a really bad situation just a little better. Thanks!

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**Chapter 4: Sorry I Missed Ya**

Anna stood silently watching as the military woman, who John called "General" prattled on about something or the other. It was all too confusing for the Nerd Herder (Or was she a _former_ Nerd Herder?) to handle. Especially after her request to be filled in on just what the hell was going on was denied out of hand. The woman on the screen had just looked at her briefly before she started talking again, and Casey and Chuck looked at her as if she'd made a bad joke.

Basically, from what Anna could tell, John, Chuck, and Sarah were some type of spies. And judging by the involvement of a military officer, they were government spies. Of course, the fancy setup under the yogurt shop should have given that away. It's not like people who spy on common businesses could afford all of this.

"Agent Walker?" the woman asked, breaking Anna from her daze.

"Er, um, yeah?" She mentally kicked herself. "I mean yes, General?" There, that sounded more professional.

"I asked if you had any questions about tonight's operation," the General answered.

Well, hell yeah Anna had questions. She had a lot of questions. Like, first of all, what kind of operation? And secondly, what was she expected to do? And also, while they were on the topic, it might be best if everything that had been said previously was repeated. Probably wouldn't be best to bring those concerns to light.

"No, I'm good," Anna answered.

It was an answer that earned her a strange look from Chuck, made John's eyes bug out of his head, and caused the General's eyebrows to furrow.

"Whatever," the woman spoke. "That will be all." And with that, the teleconference was terminated.

"Sarah? Are you feeling alright?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah, I'm just," Anna paused. "I think I need some air."

"I'll come with," Chuck said.

Chuck led the way out of Castle and up through the Orange Orange into the parking lot of the plaza.

"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" he asked again, placing a comforting hand on Anna's shoulder.

"No, yeah. I just need to take care of a few things. Um, Chuck? Can I possibly borrow your Herder?" she asked. Of course, the Chuck she knew would say "no" right out. That Herders were for employees only. But then Anna was finding out that the Chuck she knew probably didn't exist at all.

"You promise to bring it back in one piece this time?" Chuck asked, a teasing lilt to his voice. That made Anna wonder just what may have happened to his car in the past when Sarah drove. Was Sarah a bad driver? Her Porsche always seemed to be in alright shape.

"I'll do my best," Anna said, feigning an amused smile. Not that she didn't think Chuck was a funny guy, but inside jokes of which you are supposed to be in on, but totally aren't don't generally lead to great comedy. But was that even the smile that Sarah would give him? Crap! Did she know _any_ of the things that Sarah normally did? Well, that's why she had to find the woman that now inhabited her body. She needed a crash course in how to be Sarah Walker, and quick.

But if Anna had looked behind her at all, if she had watched Chuck as she sped away in his car, she would have seen a look of utter bemusement. She would have seen the look of someone that knew more than ever that something was wrong.

……

Sarah pulled to a halt outside the Buy More. "Look, I have something I need to go take care of real quick. I guess I'll, um, see you at work, yeah?" she said to Morgan, who once again looked beyond relieved to no longer be traveling at break-neck speeds.

"Wait!" Morgan said, grabbing her arm. The contact once again made Sarah's skin crawl. Yeah, she'd become a little less disgusted with Morgan when he'd shown a sensitive side she didn't know he possessed, but it still didn't make the touching any better. But if she thought the touching was bad, she was in for an entirely worse proposition from the little man. "No goodbye kiss?" he asked with a smile.

Ugh! She had to kiss him? And there would be no way to explain things if she didn't. Pushing back the bile that rose in her throat at just the thought, she leaned across the center console, closed her eyes, and kissed him on the forehead. "Okay, that's enough for now, now off to work with you."

Morgan looked at her strangely for a brief moment, before exiting the car and walking towards the store. Sarah was relieved to finally be alone. She was wholly disturbed by the impulses that coursed through her veins when she'd kissed the troll, however. What the hell was her problem? Why had that little bit of intimate contact felt so right? Damn Anna and her body. It was making Sarah think things she didn't want to, feel things she didn't want to.

Putting all that aside, labeling it in her mind as something to be dealt with later, Sarah started her trek to the Orange Orange. She got to the door just in time to see Casey walking out. The large NSA agent looked at her for a moment, and although his cool exterior stayed in place for the most part, Sarah's trained senses picked up on the very brief moment of uncertainty. Right, because he thought he needed to cover up why he would be coming out of the yogurt store this early in the morning, before it even opened.

"I was just –"

Sarah didn't have time to hear Casey's cover story. "I don't care why you were in there," she said cutting him off. "Look, Casey, er, John. I need to talk to Ann…Sarah, I mean. Have you seen Sarah?"

"She just left," Casey explained, relaxing a little. "Had some kind of personal business to take care of. Sure she'll be back later, Wu."

Sarah's shoulders slumped. Where had Anna taken her body? What was the other woman up to? And oh shit! She had already been there? Had she been in a mission briefing? Did she know their secret? This was getting really bad, really quick.

"Right, I um –"

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Casey asked, breaking Sarah from her thoughts.

"I, well," she paused, searching for something to say. Yep, there was no valid excuse as to why she couldn't be at work. "Right, I'll see you over there," Sarah said dejectedly.

……

As Casey made his way across the parking lot, Chuck came up from behind and joined him.

"Did something seem, I don't know, _off_ about Sarah this morning?" Chuck asked in a whisper.

"Don't ask me," Casey answered gruffly. "Unlike you, I don't devote my life to stalking CIA skirts."

"I don't stalk Sarah!" Chuck defended. "I just –"

"Save it for someone who cares," Casey said. Then thinking: "But you're right. She wasn't herself today. But then, I just ran into Wu, and she was acting odd too. Could just be the moon cycle or something."

Chuck chortled. "John Casey, kick ass NSA agent, hardcore assassin, conservative gun nut –"

"You got a point to all this, Bartowski?"

"Yeah, sorry, it's just, you're the last person on earth I thought would be into watching the stars and stuff."

"I don't watch the stars, numb nuts. I just heard that lunar cycles can mess with the female reproductive cycle. Maybe all women are a little screwed up today."

Chuck seemed to think about it for a moment. "Well, I guess that makes some sense. Makes me feel a little better."

"Because my job is to worry about how you _feel_," Casey said sarcastically.

"Hey! You know you care, Sugar –"

"Complete that sentence, and I turn Walker's little crush on you into a same-sex relationship," Casey growled.

Chuck swallowed hard, nervously. Then, thinking about what Casey had admitted: "You think Sarah has a crush on me?"

Casey continued walking.

"Casey? Hey, Casey! You think she does?!"

Casey still ignored him.

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_A/N: Still to come, Chuck finally gets to talk to HIS Sarah, but he of course doesn't know she's Sarah. And Anna starts to piece together some things. You guys are awesome. Peace._


	5. The Mentor

_A/N: Another Friday update! I'm so excited that I'm keeping to the schedule, haha. Okay, so this chapter moved the story a little, and also we get our first REAL Chuck/Sarah moment, even if it is weird, and not romantic, and just altogether awkward, haha. Hopefully you'll still enjoy it, and please review. Thanks!

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**Chapter 5: The Mentor**

"Dude, Anna's acting really bizarre."

Chuck, sitting behind the Nerd Herd desk, looked up from the invoices he was logging to see his distressed little bearded friend. "Yeah, Sarah's a bit off today, too. Someone said it might have something to do with the lunar cycle," he said distractedly.

Morgan wore a blank expression as he stared at Chuck. "How do you mean?" he asked.

Chuck sighed. "I don't know. I guess it messes with their bodies, and then –"

"They can tell when an earthquake is coming?" Morgan asked, confused.

"What?!" Chuck exclaimed. "No! That's – that's dogs. It just messes with their internal clock and makes them all, well, different," he finished.

"Huh," Morgan said. "That actually makes sense, I guess. I mean, Anna was fine last night. In fact, she was better than fine. In fact, she was a dirty as ever. There was this one point –"

"I'll pay you not to finish that thought," Chuck grimaced.

"Oh, yeah, right. I forgot," Morgan said. "The whole, 'I don't need to know what happens in your bedroom' rule."

"That's the one," Chuck said.

"Yeah, anyway, but it _was_ a full moon last night, and then when we woke up this morning, it's like she was a totally different person. She wouldn't even let me touch her," Morgan explained. "Wait, if this moon cycle thing is true, then maybe it makes women act all opposite," the bearded man mused.

"I don't think I like where this is going, but continue," Chuck said, preparing to be freaked out.

"Well, I'm just saying. Maybe today is the day I finally make my move on Ellie!"

"And there it is," Chuck said, rubbing his temples to try to erase the visual from his head.

"What? You know, all these years, and it turns out the only thing separating me from Ellie was timing!" Morgan said wistfully.

"Yeah, timing. That's it," Chuck said dryly. "That's the reason Ellie has never given into your advances before."

"See, you totally see it!" Morgan said. "Just think, soon, you and I will be family for real!"

"How's that now?" asked a familiar female voice.

Chuck and Morgan whipped around to see who had joined their conversation, both alarmed at the sudden appearance of Anna – or who they believed to be Anna. Morgan took his cue and quickly left for the back of the store, mumbling something about seeing a customer in need, leaving Chuck alone with the fairest Nerd Herder.

"Anna?" Chuck asked, his voice cracking, a nervous smile on his face. "How are you today?"

"I'm good, Chuck," Sarah answered, a smile of her own appearing.

Chuck was suddenly more confused than ever. Anna never smiled at him like _that_. And come to think of it, she'd never rested her hand over his like she was doing. Wait, why was her hand on his? Chuck looked down where their hands met, and then back up at Anna, only to have her snatch her hand away. She looked away shyly, clearly embarrassed.

"So," Sarah said, trying to break the awkward tension. "You and Sarah rode in together today?" she asked. It never hurt to fish around for some information. Especially when said information could lead to finding out just where the hell Anna had gone with her body. Oh, and also, it wouldn't hurt to know why Chuck was in bed with Anna, who he thought was Sarah this morning.

"Yeah," Chuck said. "Yeah, we did. She was having car trouble or something?"

That got Sarah's attention. "Wait, car trouble? What's wrong with the Porsche? I mean, Sarah's Porsche?"

Chuck laughed awkwardly. "Um, Anna? I never thought you were a car person. Why the sudden concern for Sarah's?"

Sarah wracked her brain, trying to come up with a decent excuse for the apparent change in personality. "Well, um, you know, I know how much the car means to Sarah, and I wouldn't want anything to happen to it," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh, right. Well, that's very, er…nice of you, I guess."

Then something occurred to Sarah. She could use her current predicament to try to get some dirt on Chuck. Things he wouldn't normally be willing to talk about with her, if he knew he she was.

"So, how _are_ things between you and Sarah?" she asked coyly.

……

Anna sped through the streets of LA, her destination clear in her mind. She had to find Amy, her mentor. Amy would know how to reverse the spell, and after all, when she finally ran into Sarah, she'd have to know how to reverse it. Sarah would expect nothing less, and apparently, Sarah Walker was a _very_ dangerous woman.

When she arrived, Amy was surprised to see her. Well, of course she would be. Amy didn't know Sarah, and didn't know that the tall blonde was actually Anna, on the inside. So the brunette woman of average build, just a little older than Anna stared at her with a bemused expression.

"Amy, you have to listen to me," Anna said.

"Who are you?" the other woman asked.

"I'm, okay, I know this is going to sound crazy, but I'm Anna. Anna Wu, your student, and I think I did something bad…"

Anna went on to describe the spell she had cast, Amy listening in quiet observation as the story unfolded. When Anna was done, Amy sighed, and stood. By the look on her face, Anna could tell that the news she had for her wasn't going to be good news.

"Okay Anna, here's the deal," Amy said. "There's nothing you can do with magic to make this go away."

"But –"

"No, just listen. There's no way you can make this go away with magic, but it _can_ be fixed," Amy explained.

"How?" Anna asked.

"Basically," Amy said, pausing slightly, "you two have something in common. You both wanted an escape from your lives. You both wanted something you didn't have, and the universe has granted to both of you that release. That's why the spell worked."

"But what did we want? What did we gain?" Anna asked in a panic.

"I can't tell you that," Amy said. "You need to find this Sarah, and the two of you need to figure out what it is that's changed. Only then, when you can figure out why you would be more happy in your currents states, and then achieve that happiness, can you reverse the spell."

Well shit! She had to find Sarah? She had to explain all of this to Sarah? Would the other woman even listen? Would she want to hear what Anna had to say? Well, there would be no other way to get her body back.

"Thanks, Amy," Anna said dejectedly.

"Hey," Amy said. "It's not so bad. If nothing else, this will help you learn more about yourself. And it can even help you appreciate what you have, you know? The universe doesn't take things like this lightly. There's a reason you are, um, who you are right now."

Right, there was a reason she was who she was, but figuring out what that reason was would be the real problem. She would need the full cooperation of Sarah to get this fixed. She needed the full cooperation of a deadly spy. Yeah, this was _not_ going to be fun.

* * *

_A/N: You guys are awesome. Peace. _


	6. At Last We Meet

_A/N: *Sighs in relief* I didn't think I was going to get this one done on time. It's been a busy week, and I started a new job, and things have just been…hectic, I guess. In fact, I hadn't even started this chapter until late Thursday night, and just finished it this morning. Hopefully that doesn't dull the quality for you guys. And hopefully you'll enjoy it, and please review. Thanks!

* * *

_

**Chapter 6: At Last We Meet**

It had never occurred to Sarah just how frustrating it could be to hear "it's complicated". But then she'd tried to have a serious conversation with Chuck about how he felt about her, under the guise of her new identity.

"I don't know, Anna, things are just…complicated," he said again.

"What's so damn complicated about it?!" Sarah exploded. She calmed herself a little, taking a cleansing breath. "Because, and this is just a rumor I heard, but someone said you two were going at it pretty hot and heavy this morning." There, it was out in the open. Now Chuck would have to come clean.

Only, he didn't. He laughed awkwardly, which was usually something Sarah found down right adorable, but this time, it just pissed her off. "We, um, we…where did you hear that?" he asked.

Well, how was she supposed to explain her knowledge of the situation now? Would Chuck even buy anything she could come up with? It was worth a shot, at least.

"Oh, you know, she was bragging about all the things you guys did," Sarah said. "Oh, and she told me to give you your badge back. You dropped it on her bed this morning," she added, pulled Chuck's Nerd Herd badge from her shirt pocket.

"Oh!" Chuck said blushing. "I mean, that doesn't really sound like something Sarah would do. Bragging, I mean. But she didn't really seem like herself this morning."

Sarah smiled inwardly. At least on some level Chuck seemed to know that who he thought was Sarah wasn't actually Sarah. Her happiness was short-lived, however, as he continued.

"I mean, I'm not complaining. I think I like the new Sarah," he added.

Sarah felt like someone had stuck a knife in her gut and twisted it. Chuck liked Anna more than her? Was he only ever interested in her because of her looks? Somehow, she'd come to think of Chuck as the one person on Earth that actually valued her as a person, and it hurt more than she cared to admit that maybe that wasn't true.

"So you don't usually like Sarah?" she asked sadly. She had to know.

"What?!" Chuck asked in a panic. "No! That's not it at all. I lo – I mean, I really, really like Sarah. All the time. She's like no one I've ever known. I just wish she'd be more open with me, you know?"

And Sarah did know. And Chuck clarification made her feel a little better. Not a lot better, as now she was hurting because she knew she was hurting Chuck. But what was she supposed to do? It was her job to keep him safe, not to make him happy. Even if making him happy made her very, very happy as well. Her own happiness didn't matter. The job came first.

But wait. She wasn't actually Sarah Walker anymore. She was Anna Wu: normal girl. She could do things that would make her happy. She could just be real for this first time in her life. She was being given an opportunity. But what would she do with that opportunity?

"You know, Chuck, you're a great guy." That was true! She'd been honest with Chuck about something! "And I'm sure Sarah cares about you a lot." That was true too! She cared about him more than he'd ever know. "But if she's not giving you everything you need, maybe you need to look elsewhere." Like, maybe he should look to a short Asian coworker, who was actually his cover girlfriend even though he didn't know it.

"No," Chuck said quickly. "It's not…it's not that simple." He swallowed, and when he spoke again, his voice was filled with emotion. "I can't leave Sarah. She's…she's too important to me."

Dammit, Sarah wanted to cry. She'd never been more touched. Here was this wonderful man, clearly in love with her, who even though he was being beaten down t every turn by their fake relationship, he wasn't willing to give her up. God, what did she ever do to deserve him? And more importantly, how was she going to convince him that his Sarah wasn't Sarah anymore, and that if he really wanted Sarah, he needed the woman standing in front of him at that moment?

Before Sarah could find her answer, she felt a pull at her arm. She turned harshly to face…

"You!" Sarah said, staring into the eyes of her own body.

"Sar -- um, _Anna_," Anna corrected. "We need to talk."

"Yeah, I think that we do," Sarah said dangerously.

......

It was far from the first secret meeting Sarah had attended in the home theater room of the Buy More, but it _was_ the first related to supernatural occurrences. Although, "occurrences" might not be the right word. That seemed to imply that what was happening wasn't intentionally done, and Sarah was of the opinion that her current condition was somehow done to her on purpose. Supernatural terrorism maybe? Was that too strong of a word?

"What the _hell_ is going on, Anna?" Sarah asked in an angry whisper.

"I was going to ask you the same thing, but somehow I think you'd kill me for asking, so…"

"You mean to tell me you didn't have something to do with _this_?" Sarah asked, spreading her arms to illustrate what "this" was: her being in Anna's body.

"Oh, the body switch? Yeah, that was me. I was talking about the spy thing," Anna explained.

"Spy thing? How much do you know?" Sarah asked in a threatening tone. Was it possible that Anna was involved with some rival organization, and was trying to learn about the Intersect? Was she endangering Chuck?

"Not a lot," Anna explained. "I was kind of in shock while I was down in that little room with that woman yelling at me. It's kinda cool, though."

"It's not cool, Anna!" Sarah said harshly. "People's lives are at stake, and you're playing some kind of – some kind of game, or something. Just tell me how to fix this so I can get my body back!"

"It's not that simple," Anna said vaguely.

"How?!" Sarah demanded.

"Okay, here's the deal. I talked to my mentor –"

"Your mentor? What did this to me?" Sarah asked, cutting Anna off.

"Magic," Anna explained matter-of-factly, shrugging her shoulders as if it were no big deal. "But I know how we can reverse this."

"Tell me!" Sarah ordered.

"So, apparently, the reason the Universe allowed this to happen is, we both have something the other wants," Anna said calmly.

"How do you mean?" Sarah asked, narrowing her eyes. What could Anna possibly have that Sarah didn't?

"I don't know for sure," Anna answered nervously. "That's really the catch."

"Anna!" Sarah warned.

"Okay, here's the skinny. We both have something the other desires. What that is, I haven't the slightest idea. What I _do_ know is that we will only be returned to our original form when we've figured it out, and enjoyed what it is we're missing," Anna rattled off.

"Anna, I can't begin to tell you how bad this is. I have," Sarah paused. "My job is very important. I can't tell you why, but it is. There are people that will be in real danger if I can't do my job." She paused again. "We have to tell Casey and Chuck," she finally said, beginning to walk out of the home theater room.

Anna grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away from the door. Shit, Sarah had never realized how strong her body was. Anna used it to pull her around like she was a rag doll.

"We can't," Anna said.

"What do you mean 'we can't'?" Sarah asked.

"If we disturb the natural course of the Universe, in other words, try to change what is supposed to happen, then we'll be stuck like this forever," Anna explained.

Well, Sarah certainly didn't want that. But what was she supposed to do? Everything was just so messed up. And she couldn't tell Chuck? But what if her not being able to protect him cost him his life? She knew she couldn't live with herself if that happened. She knew she'd kill Anna, too, regardless of what body the other woman was in.

Before Sarah could voice any more of her concerns, however, Casey burst into the home theater room and marched right up to Anna, who he still thought was Sarah.

"We have a mission," the NSA agent whispered to the blonde.

* * *

_A/N: Before you even say anything, yes, the premise for this is pretty thin, and I'm just throwing things in that seem convenient. So what? It's my story, and I'll do what I want, haha. Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed it and I look forward to your feedback. You guys are awesome. Peace. _


	7. And So It's Come to This

_A/N: So back in January of 2010, I was updating this story regularly. Then Mass Effect 2 came out, and I stopped writing regularly, period, and this little tale fell by the wayside. Now, Mass Effect 3 has been out for a few weeks, I've completed it a couple of times, and I decide to pick it back up. Coincidence? Yeah, it is, really. The main reason I came back to this story was because it was requested by the magnificent **Catrogue**, and seeing as I hate disappointing her, I decided it was time this story had an ending. Or at least a new chapter. Heh. So for those of you that remember this one, those that wanted more, or those of you that are reading this for the first time, I hope you enjoy this. I do have designs on finishing this now, and unlike before, there is actually a plan in place. Let's hope I can stick to it this time, yeah?_

* * *

**Chapter 7: And So It's Come to This**

The bell on the door rang, and Sarah felt weird walking into _her_ store as a mere visitor. She felt even weirder looking behind the counter and seeing herself.

"Oh, good, you're here," Anna said, peeking up over the laptop that was resting on the counter.

She'd given it some time. Once Anna left the Buy More, Sarah really tried to get over feeling pissed off. She really did. She reasoned with herself that getting angry wouldn't accomplish anything. And she'd just about reached that point, where she could focus on how to get her body back, when her—well, _Anna's _phone buzzed, letting Sarah know she had a text. From her phone, which was in Anna's possession. Anna said she needed help. So despite any ill feelings she had, Sarah went right over.

Sarah's brow furrowed as she took in the scene in front of her. "Wait, that's my computer." Anger—even more than she already felt—began to bubble in her gut. "My computer is password protected! How did you—"

Anna stared at her dumbly. "Are you serious?" she asked. "You have enough tech equipment down in the basement, or whatever you call it to hack a drone plane. Not that I'd want to hack a drone plane. And not that I needed all of that equipment just to get into your Macbook. I mean, seriously, it's me."

Sarah really hated being spoken down to. It was even worse when it was her own voice speaking down to her.

"Well," she sputtered, her anger making it hard to form a complete thought, much less voice one. "Well, that computer is government property, so you're committing a crime right now!" she finally managed, lamely.

"Pffft," Anna said, waving a hand dismissively. "First of all, it wouldn't be the first time I've hacked into a government computer. And secondly, as far as the government is concerned, I'm _you._"

Sarah tried to bite her bottom lip but missed. She still wasn't used to Anna's stupid, normal front teeth. And that just made her angrier. She felt like her head was going to explode.

"Look," Sarah said, speaking in as even a tone as possible. "You texted me. Said you had something important to ask me. Well, I'm here."

"Oh, right," Anna said, snapping her fingers and standing up from the stool she'd pulled behind the counter.

She started to walk over to Sarah, and nearly tripped over her own feet.

"Your legs are ridiculously long, by the way," Anna said. "Don't get me wrong, they're nice legs. Like, _really_ nice legs, but—"

Sarah's eyes narrowed to slits as she folded her arms over her chest. She missed her legs. "Is there a point to all of this?"

"Yeah, here's the thing," Anna said. "So, there's a mission tonight."

"A mission!" Sarah shouted. "You can't go on a mission! You're not a spy!"

"Yeah, that's obvious," Anna said, once again, in a condescending tone. That was really, really starting to get under Sarah's skin.

"Well what are you going to do?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know," Anna admitted. "I've been trying to learn everything I can about being a spy from YouTube, but so far, I haven't learned anything I didn't know. Drive fast cars, wear fancy cloths. Like, all I really need to learn is how to use a gun, I think."

"You just need to learn—you can't be serious. You think that's all there is to being a spy?"

Anna shrugged. "What else is there?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Being a spy is _not_ about going around to fancy parties, and shooting everything you see." She paused. "Despite what Casey may or may not tell you, it's really not. Being a spy is about gathering intelligence in any way you can."

"And killing people," Anna added.

Sarah pursed her lips. "Yes, sometimes there's that, but you're kind of oversimplifying it, and that attitude can get you in trouble."

"I don't have an attitude," Anna shot back.

"Are you kidding me?" Sarah asked. "You've been a total smartass since I walked in! And that after I came here to help you!"

"Yeah, well you haven't been the most pleasant person to be around today," Anna replied.

"I haven't—what—I," Sarah sputtered. She took a calming breath. At least, she tried to make it a calming breath. She didn't feel much calmer, though. "The only reason—_the _only reason we're stuck in this situation is because of you!"

"And I was just trying to do something nice for _you_!"

"Well, how about do something else for me, and don't do me anymore favors, okay?" Sarah said.

She turned on her heel, leaving Anna staring at her retreating form. She wasn't even going to look over her shoulder as she left, until Anna said the magic word. Or words, as it were.

"What about Chuck," Anna said.

That stopped Sarah dead in her tracks. Her hand, which had been reaching to push the door open, froze in mid-air.

Sarah spun around, and Anna never dreamed the sight of her own face could be so frightening.

"What about Chuck?" Sarah asked icily.

Anna swallowed. "It's just, if you don't help me, something might happen to him."

"Is that a threat?" None of the deadliness had faded from Sarah's voice.

"What?" Anna asked. "No! I'm just saying, if you don't help me, I can't help Chuck, and something bad might happen. So I'm asking you to help me, so I can help Chuck."

Sarah thought about that for a moment. She couldn't stand the thought of helping Anna in any way at that moment. She found the idea of being the other woman's spy tutor simply repugnant. But despite all of those bad feelings, there was one thing that would always come first in Sarah's book.

Chuck's safety.

If something happened to him, she would be lost. She didn't know when it happened, but somewhere along the line, Chuck had become the center of her universe. And no matter what Anna did to piss her off, Sarah would never let pettiness get in the way of protecting her guy.

In a perfect world, she could just tell Anna to tell Chuck to stay in the van. But Sarah was nothing if not realistic. He never stayed in the stupid van. He always managed to get himself into trouble. And she was always there to bail him out. Only, this time, she wouldn't be.

Unless…

"Here's what we do," she said. "When you get where you're going, text me. Do something to stall, give me time to get there. I'll make sure everything goes as planned."

"That's great," Anna said, "except that—"

"Except that what?" Sarah asked

"Except that I—well, _you're_ the on-call Nerd Herder tonight. What if you get called away? I mean, I don't want to get my body back, only to find myself unemployed."

Sarah blew out an exasperated breath. If she wasn't worried about having to put up with the pain, should she suddenly regain her own body, she would've punched Anna right in the face.

"Fine," she said. "I'll figure something out. But I'll be there."

"Okay," Anna said skeptically. "I'll text you, but you have to promise not to do anything to get me fired."

"Let's make a deal," Sarah said. "You don't do anything to get my team hurt or killed, and I won't do anything to get you fired."

Anna paled at the mention of someone being killed, but Sarah had to give her credit, she held herself in check pretty well.

"Deal," Anna said meekly, nodding her head.

* * *

No matter how many times it happened, it was still surreal for Sarah to look in a mirror and see someone else's face. In fact, surreal didn't even cover the feeling. It was freaky. But she couldn't afford to freak out at the moment. She had a mission, one that she couldn't afford to fail. And being a spy for over a decade, she'd learned to adapt, no matter the situation. So she convinced herself it was just like wearing a _very_ convincing disguise.

Sarah tousled her long, dark hair, took a deep, cleansing breath, and mentally steeled herself. It was show time.

She stepped out of the Buy More ladies room, and strode confidently toward the Nerd Herd desk. She added a little extra sway to her hips, and schooled her face into a predatory mask, complete with the most smoldering "Fuck Me" eyes she could manage with Anna's features. Her target was in sight, and Sarah was going to shoot to kill.

"Lester," Sarah said, looking down shyly as she played her Nerd Herd badge.

"What can I do for you, Annabelle?" Lester asked as he typed away on a laptop that sat in front of him, not bothering to look up.

It pissed her off that he wasn't looking at her. And hearing him address her in such an affectionate way made Sarah's skin crawl. But she had to be strong if she was going to make this work. And it's not like she hadn't dealt with much sleazier, grosser men in her line of work. Of course, she usually ended up getting to shoot those men, a release she wouldn't be afforded in this case, but still she pressed on.

She cleared her throat lightly before beginning again. That seemed to get his attention.

"Here's the thing," she said, her eyes still seemingly glued to the floor in front of her, kicking softly at nothing in particular. "I have an emergency Wiccan meeting tonight, but I'm scheduled to be on-call, and—"

"So you want me to cover your shift so you can go dance naked in the woods?" Lester asked indignantly.

But despite his tone, Sarah saw her opening.

"Mhmm," she said.

She stood on her tiptoes, because being eight inches shorter did _not_ make reaching the counter any easier. Still, she managed to lean across, as close to Lester as she dared get, the top two buttons of her blouse that she'd strategically left open gave him just enough of a peek of her goods to make his jaw drop open, the reek of curry on his breath nearly making her gag. But she hid her disgust, and grinned at him seductively.

"Very, very naked," she said breathily. And now to close the deal. "With all of my very naked, very hot Wiccan friends. Who knows what we'll get up to?"

Lester nearly choked on his own tongue. Just the reaction Sarah was hoping for.

"Take pictures," he managed to croak out.

"Is that a yes?" Sarah asked, falling back from the counter a little, staring intently into Lester's unfocused eyes.

He didn't answer. _Couldn't_ answer, Sarah realized. But he nodded vigorously.

"Good," she said, leaning back over to kiss him on his oily, gross cheek. "Thank you, Lester."

And so part one of her mission was complete. Now she just had to find a way to keep Chuck safe. When he was minus one handler. That part, she realized, would be much more of a challenge. Sarah was always up for a challenge.

* * *

_A/N: And that's all for now, folks! I imagine there are stylistic differences between this and the last chapter and previous chapters. But then, the last time I wrote this, I was an unemployed 25 year old living in South Carolina, and now I'm a (near) 28 year old with a full time job living in Chicago. Does that make a difference? Eh, who knows? Haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, and I look forward to your feedback. You guys are awesome. Peace. _


	8. Hitches All Over the Place

_A/N: Okay, so I've had this chapter about 80% complete for a couple of weeks now. The problem is, 80% isn't 100%, so I couldn't post it. Now, it's finally done! And here for your enjoyment! Than you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. A special thank you to by best gal, **Catrouge** for being so awesomely supportive of everything I do (and for entertaining me all the time), and to my old buddy **Zerectica **for always being a fan of this story, and for sticking with it, even after the two year hiatus. And thanks to **BDaddyDL **for taking a final readthrough for me. You rock, dude. Anyway, without further ado, I present to you another chapter. Enjoy!_

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**Chapter 8: Hitches All Over the Place**

It paid to have a roommate with a predictable schedule, Anna decided. It made breaking into her own home, much easier.

The whole mission thing had her on edge, and she needed to relax. Her first instinct was to go work out, but when she realized that she couldn't very well pass as Anna Wu at her gym, and when the alternative was working out in Castle—a secret spy base, when spy related matters were the source of her anxiety anyway—she decided to nix the exercise idea, and settled on just taking a long bubble bath. But it wouldn't do to take a bath in Sarah's room. She really needed the home-field-advantage.

So she'd decided on going to her own apartment. Of course she realized once she was there, Sarah still had her keys. So she'd had to get crafty.

Fortunately, in her younger, wilder years, she'd nearly mastered the art of lock picking.

Following her bubble bath, which did help relax her a great deal, Anna stood in front of the full-length mirror she keeps in her bathroom. It wasn't as full-length as it used to be, of course. Not with the extra eight or nine inches she suddenly had. Still, it covered all the important areas, when she tilted it just right. Or uncovered, as it were.

She turned from side-to-side, admiring her new, if temporary, body. Sarah certainly kept herself in incredible shape. Of course, with all the spying, it was probably pretty easy to burn calories. Still, Anna was impressed.

And to live the dangerous life she led, there wasn't even an exorbitant amount of wear-and-tear. Though, there was a scar on her left hip that made her wonder. How had Sarah gotten that scar? Bullet wound? Knife? Crazy sexcapades? Whatever it was, it was probably exciting. Much more exciting than the scars Anna had on her own body, which were mostly on her hands, and she'd mostly earned picking apart the guts of old computers.

Anna sighed. She didn't know what Sarah had to be so unhappy about. Her life was a dream. Awesome job, awesome car, awesome looks, awesome boyfriend. Well, not really boyfriend—Sarah had explained the whole "cover relationship" thing to her—but Anna could take one look at Chuck and realize that, if Sarah wanted him for real, he was hers. And if she didn't, it's not like she'd have to go out of her way to find a long line of amazing suitors.

She checked her phone, and realized that she was running short on time. Her relaxing afternoon was coming to an end, and she'd soon have to get dressed for her first mission.

When she'd snuck Sarah down into Castle, the real spy had reviewed the dossier for the mission, and had somewhat put Anna's mind at ease, telling her that the mission would likely be an easy "in-and-out," she'd called it. Then she'd taken Anna over to a very large wardrobe behind the armory—which helped Anna understand why Sarah had so few clothes in her hotel room—and helped her pick out some proper mission attire.

The conservative pantsuit—something Anna wouldn't be caught dead wearing under normal circumstances—was draped across Anna's bed. She took one last glance at herself in the mirror, and sighed, bemoaning the fact that she wouldn't even do something crazy with her hair. A shame, too, because she thought Sarah would look great with pink highlights, but that would have to wait for another day.

Anna padded across the hall to her bedroom, and started getting dressed. Maybe Sarah was right. Maybe it would be an easy mission, and everything would go off without a hitch.

* * *

Sarah had _not_ been right. Not only was the mission not easy, it also wasn't going off without a hitch. In fact, there were hitches all over the place.

The plan seemed simple enough at first, and things had actually started out smoothly.

They were investigating the labs of a technology company, Pantigo Corp, which held several sizeable government contracts. Contracts the company stood to lose if whisperings inside the new administration were to be believed.

In order to cover those losses, intel suggested there were parties within the company who were shopping classified technology and designs to other countries, and possibly to other, more sinister parties. Sarah hadn't been too specific about what was worse than a foreign country with state secrets. Being kept in the dark as to that particular matter didn't upset Anna in the least. Just the implication that there were underground spy organizations out there with nefarious intentions was scary enough. Like straight out of the movies stuff. She didn't need all the details.

To gain access to the building, Anna was going in under the guise of being a potential investor in Pantigo. Casey was posed as her consultant. An ex-military man who would be knowledgeable in the ways of cyber-weaponry. While touring the facilities, Casey would incapacitate their guide.

All that had gone as planned.

Once the guide was down, Anna and Casey were to split up, and locate the company's primary server, which they knew to be on the second level of the building, though they didn't know exactly which room. That part had seemed almost too easy in advance, to Anna. How hard could it be to find a server room, after all? Then of course, she saw just how freaking huge the complex was. Just the second floor Pantigo's corporate office was roughly the size of two city blocks.

But even that wasn't the problem. The problem came just after she split from Casey. She heard over the earpiece attached to the faux glasses she was wearing as someone shouted at Casey, he'd whispered that he'd been made, and then there were gunshots.

Anna felt like panicking. She wasn't easily intimidated, at least not in her normal life, but angry spies with guns scared her. And rightfully so, she thought. Except that she was supposed to _be_ a spy with a gun. So she tried to swallow her fear, and with the steadiest voice she could muster, she asked for help.

"Chuck," she whispered, tapping the communicator on her watch. The technology really was impressive. If she weren't currently in danger of being shot, she would've marveled at all the cool gadgets she had.

But for whatever reason, there was no reply when she first tried to contact Chuck. Maybe he was just distracted.

"Chuck," she said again. "Casey's been made. They're coming after us. Have you been able to make anything of the building schematics yet? Can you tell me where the server room is?"

Still there was no reply. And even more worrying, Anna heard another shot, and a fire extinguisher at the end of the hall she was currently on sparked as it was hit, then fell to the ground, erupting with all it's fire extinguisher-ness.

At last, Anna was in an all out panic. She began running the opposite direction of the last shot.

"Chuck!" she shouted. "You have to help me here."

Still no reply.

"Chuck! I have to tell you something. Listen, you have to help, because I'm not—"

"Anna?"

Anna recognized that voice. It was her own voice coming through her comm. Only, she wasn't in her own body right now. That meant, unless she was going crazy, it had to be…

"Sarah! Thank God. Look, things are really bad. Casey and I split up, and they're shooting at us, and I don't know where to go, and I can't find the server room, and—"

"Anna, breathe," Sarah said. "Listen, Chuck's—"

There was a long pause.

"Chuck's incapacitated. He's okay, but he can't tell you where to go. So I'm going to help you get out of there, but you have to do two things for me."

"I'll do whatever you want, just get me out of here," Anna said, breathing heavily as she continued to run.

"Good," Sarah said. "The first thing I need you to do is follow my instructions to the letter. I'm going to get you to that server room, then I'm going to get you out of the building, but you have to listen to everything I say."

"Okay," Anna said. Seemed easy enough. "What's the second thing?"

There was another pause.

"Don't freak out."

* * *

_A/N: And that's all for now, everyone! Next chapter is a Sarah (or Sarah/Anna) chapter, and there will be some clarification as to what's going on. At least that's the plan. I'm never great with sticking to plans, but I will try to do that this time. Anyway, thanks for reading. You guys are awesome. Peace. _


	9. Let the Sleeping Chuck Lie

_A/N Okay, not to go all Dickens on you, but the story on this is, it was a long time in coming, and it wasn't. I promised long ago not to delay this chapter, but I promised just yesterday that I was going to begin work on this again. So for anyone shocked to see it so soon, you're welcome! For anyone bummed that it took so long, you have my apologies. The good news is, I'm currently in the mood to finish all of my incomplete works. What this means for you: One by one, I will knock out the still unfinished works in my personal archive. I started with Adorable Psycho's A Wonderful Wager Gone Awry (written for Catrogue), and now I've moved onto The Switch. I'm not sure what will be next. The obvious choice is College Years. That's far and away my most popular story, and honestly it's only about four or five chapters from completion. But if not College Years, it will be Breaking Out. Again, the decision has yet to be made. But it will be whatever I can feel inspired enough to complete. Anyway, enough of my crap, and onto the story, yeah? Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 9: Let the Sleeping Chuck Lie**

And so it happened that Anna's gothic nature worked in Sarah's favor. Of course Sarah's normal mission attire wouldn't fit her now petite frame, so she'd asked Anna if she had anything in black Sarah could borrow.

Anna had insisted she be more specific.

So Sarah asked if Anna had anything in black that would cover her entire body.

Once again, Anna insisted Sarah be more specific.

But even after spelling out exactly what she needed, Anna had delivered to Sarah a massive heap of appropriate mission clothing. It was a good thing Sarah didn't need anything in bright colors. There was no way Anna would've been able to accommodate that request.

The stretch pants and microfiber long-sleeved shirt Sarah picked out worked perfectly. It clung to her body, leaving no loose material to get caught in anything, while providing a full range of motion, should Sarah need to fight someone. And the running shoes Anna gave her were much more comfortable than the six inch heels Sarah found herself sporting on missions all too often.

With her mission gear on, including her own black ski mask, Sarah arrived at the address Anna texted her just minutes after Anna and Casey had gone inside.

Of course, Sarah had one mission above all others while she sat in wait in the shadows, close enough to see the van, but far enough away not to be detected. Her goal was to make sure Chuck stayed in the damn car.

Sure, she'd promised to help Anna, but Anna had Casey, and Casey could handle himself. Sarah had confidence in her partner to keep her body safe while it was inhabited by a non-spy, even if he didn't know he needed to.

Patching into the communication channel was easy enough, too, so Sarah was able to overhear the mission going off without a hitch, just as she'd predicted.

Then, without warning, everything went pear-shaped.

There was shouting, and gunfire inside the building. Chuck tried to guide Anna—who he thought was Sarah—to the server room, but Anna was too freaked out to follow directions. So Chuck did just what Sarah feared he'd do. What he always did.

The back door of the van slid open, and Sarah watched as those familiar Chuck Taylors hit the ground.

She growled under her breath, and pulled her ski mask down over her face, so Chuck wouldn't recognize her, and started on a full sprint to stop the Intersect from endangering himself.

He hadn't taken four steps toward the building before she was in front of him, the gun she'd brought just in case presented before her.

"Get back in the van, and no one has to get hurt," she said in the most threatening tone she could manage, given the high, squeaky voice that came with being in Anna Wu's body.

Chuck clearly wasn't listening. Or he was listening, and trying to ignore her. She could see his eyes shifting around, looking for an escape route. A way to get to the building.

"You—look, I'm nobody. You don't want to shoot me," he said nervously as he tried, very obviously to slide by her.

"I said get back in the van," she said.

"I want to, I really do," he said. "It's just, my friends are—hey, what's that?"

Stupidly, she would tell herself later, Sarah looked where Chuck was pointing, somewhere off in the distance, and in her moment of distraction, he took off on a dead sprint.

Sarah growled again. He'd given her no other option. She fired.

The tranq impacted Chuck right between his shoulder blades, and he yelped. He slowly turned, and looked at her with a confused expression. Then there was no expression at all.

Chuck collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Sighing, Sarah shuffled her feet over to her fallen asset. She reached down and nudged him, making sure he was unconscious. He was.

The part she hadn't really considered when she tranqed him was, she was no longer in her own body, and despite the fact that Anna kept herself in good shape, Sarah temporary body just wasn't as strong as the one she was used to.

Dragging Chuck's limp frame back to the van was a major workout all unto itself.

"How does something so skinny weigh so damn much?" Sarah said to no one in particular, her breathing heavy from the exertion.

Finally, after far too much effort, Sarah had Chuck back to the van. She slid the door open, and that's when she heard Anna screaming for Chuck's help. After Chuck left the van, Sarah had turned off her own line to the team's communication.

In truth, all Sarah wanted to do was get Chuck back in the van, and drive him home where he'd be safe from whatever Anna and Casey had gotten themselves into. After all, Casey _could _take care of himself, and it was Anna's fault she was in Sarah's body, anyway. But still, a promise was a promise.

"Chuck!" Anna shouted. "You have to help me here."

Sarah, using what she was sure was the last ounce of strength in Anna's body, hefted Chuck's upper body into the floor of the van.

"Chuck! I have to tell you something. Listen, you have to help, because I'm not—"

Dammit! Anna was going to spill their secret. On a recorded channel! Even if Anna was wrong, and others finding out about their predicament wouldn't get them stuck as they were, having Beckman hear what was going on would only lead to Sarah's firing, or possibly institutionalization, if the General thought her as crazy as the truth would make her sound. She hauled Chuck's legs up into the van, and climbed in after him, shutting the door.

"Anna?" Sarah asked, picking up Chuck's mic and switching over to Anna's direct channel. No need to let Casey wonder who the mystery girl was coming through his earpiece.

"Sarah! Thank God. Look, things are really bad. Casey and I split up, and they're shooting at us, and I don't know where to go, and I can't find the server room, and—"

Didn't this chick ever shut up? She was as bad as Chuck with the rambling.

"Anna, breathe," Sarah said as calmly as she could. "Listen, Chuck's—"

She looked over at Chuck who had a puddle of drool starting to collect under his chin. He was so adorable when—oh right, Anna.

"Chuck's incapacitated," she said, measuring her tone, trying not to let on to the severity of the situation. A panicked Anna Wu wouldn't help anyone. "He's okay, but he can't tell you where to go. So I'm going to help you get out of there, but you have to do two things for me."

"I'll do whatever you want, just get me out of here," Anna answered.

Such a position of power wasn't all that unusual to Sarah. Hell, if she had a dollar for every asset she'd bent to her will over her years as a spy—for every man or woman that was willing to sell out their own country, family, whatever, just to earn Sarah's favor—well, she could retire from spying, and try dating Chuck for real. But now wasn't the time to bask in her power over Anna. She had to make sure her body was safe.

"Good," Sarah said. "The first thing I need you to do is follow my instructions to the letter."

The building schematics were sitting at Chuck's work station, and from what Sarah could tell from the surveillance video feed coming into the van, it looked as if Anna would come upon the server room before she ever got out of the building. And Sarah was never one to let a mission—no matter how screwed up it had gotten —go to waste.

"I'm going to get you to that server room, then I'm going to get you out of the building, but you have to listen to everything I say."

Perhaps she was a bit of a control freak, but in this instance, Sarah knew she had every right to be. Not only was Anna an amateur, she was also far too scared to make rational decisions on her own.

"Okay," Anna said. "What's the second thing?"

It was a bit cliché, sure. But sports coaches used clichés all the time. And there was a reason for that. Sometimes, clichés held true. This was one of those times.

"Don't freak out," Sarah said.

She heard Anna take a few labored breaths, no doubt trying to clear her mind and steel herself against her nervousness.

"Okay, not freaking out," Anna finally replied.

Sarah wasn't buying that in the least. The other woman still sounded scared out of her mind. But at least she was faking confidence. Sometimes, that was enough. Sarah hoped this would be one of those times.

Sarah studied the surveillance feed against the building schematics. It appeared Anna had haphazardly run herself right out of enemy range. At least for the moment.

"Okay Anna," Sarah said. It always helped to use the other person's name as much as possible to help keep them grounded in the moment. She'd learned that in her training. "Keep going to the end of the hall you're on, and then take a right."

"But what if there's—"

"No one is there right now," Sarah said. "You're in the clear, but I don't know for how long, so you need to move. Now!"

Anna didn't argue further. Sarah watched the current inhabitant of her body jog to the end of the hall, and take a right, just as Sarah had instructed. Now they were making progress.

"Now what?" Anna asked.

Sarah counted off the rooms on the schematic.

"You need to pass by one—two doors on the left. The third door on the left will be the server room. It should be a double door."

Once again, Anna followed directions, and arrived at the door Sarah described. She opened the door and looked inside.

"Yeah, this is the server room," Anna confirmed. "Impressive."

"You can be impressed later, right now, you have work to do," Sarah scolded her.

"Right, well here's the thing," Anna said. "I was just supposed to get here and link Chuck up to the terminal, and let him hack into the mainframe."

Sarah cursed under her breath. With Chuck out cold, they didn't have a hacker. Sarah knew she couldn't do it herself. She didn't have the experience, or the know-how to crack a high security system. At least not on the fly. But wait. Anna _did_.

"Anna, you know your way around a computer, right? Could you do the hacking yourself?" Sarah asked.

"Of course," Anna said cockily. "Think about who you're talking to."

Sarah was both annoyed at Anna's tone, and relieved that she was finally starting to show signs of confidence. Sarah chose to focus on the latter feeling.

"Okay, so here's where you get to show that. I need you to link the terminal up, just like you would've done for Chuck. Only I need you to get access to the mainframe yourself. That will broadcast the information we need to our servers."

Anna didn't answer, but Sarah could hear fingers flying over a keyboard. It was less than a minute before that clicking went silent.

"Got it," Anna said.

Wow. That was quick. Sarah was admittedly impressed.

"Good, now—"

"We're all clear."

Casey's gruff voice in the background startled Sarah.

"Okay," Sarah said, taking a cleansing breath. "You're safe now."

"Good," Anna said.

"Is that the nerd?" Casey asked. "Why hasn't he been answering me?"

Before Anna could answer, Sarah interjected.

"Tell him that the van was surrounded, and Chuck took off. At your instruction."

"Chuck was surrounded," Anna repeated. "I told him to get out of here. He went home."

"Hmmph," Casey grunted. "What'd you have to promise the geek to get him to follow orders this time?"

There was a pause. Sarah wasn't sure what she should tell Anna to say to that. Fortunately, Casey didn't wait for an answer.

"You know what? I don't want to know," he said. "I'll call in a cleanup team, and oversee post-op. You find a ride and secure the asset. We don't want him wetting his little Intersect panties worried about you."

"Okay," Anna said.

"I'll see you at 0800 for the debriefing, Walker. Good work."

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. Everything looked like it was going to work out. Finally.

"Anna, come out to the van. I'll drop you off and take care of Chuck."

"I can't go home!" Anna said as she walked out of the building. "You don't think my roommate might notice that I'm suddenly some blonde who looks like she just leapt off a runway at fashion week?"

Sarah was annoyed. And flattered. "Well you can stay in my room," she said.

"Where will you stay?" Anna asked, opening the passenger door of the van.

Sarah put the mic down, and crawled across the console to the driver's seat. She collapsed into the seat, and shrugged.

"I don't know. I have to make sure Chuck is safe and at home. After that? Who knows."

Sarah really didn't know. She hasn't thought that far ahead. "One mission at a time" had long been a mantra of hers. Even living in another body wasn't about to change that.

They drove mostly in silence to Sarah's hotel. It was obvious that Anna had a million questions she wanted to ask, and she even started to speak a couple of times. But the withering glares Sarah gave her left no room for interpretation. Tonight was not the time.

Once Anna was out of the van, and on her way up to Sarah's room, Sarah turned around to check on her asset. Still out like a baby.

On the way to his place, Sarah really started to consider her situation.

She wouldn't get her own body back until she realized what it is she wanted. What did that mean? Was it something small she wanted? Something big? Something concrete? Something abstract? There had to be more to it. Or at least, there had to be more specific directions.

Her musings were broken by a snort coming from the back of the van. Sarah looked up into the rearview to see Chuck shift in his sleep. She smiled, despite herself. A smile that quickly turned into an epiphany.

What did she want? There was no doubt in her mind what she wanted. And in her current body, outside of herself, no longer bound by the constraints of being Sarah Walker, she could have exactly what she wanted.

But she'd have to convince him that he wanted her, too. Sarah's smile widened. _Mission accepted._

* * *

_A/N: So that's all for now. Random factoid: The chapter was written in one day. Well, even that's kind of exaggerating the timeframe. It was written in under two hours. So, yeah, there may be mistakes. And since no one took me up on my offer to proofread it for me, I think the best person(s) to blame for any errors you may see, and that annoy you are any/all of my 128 Twitter followers. So hah! Anywho, I do hope you found it entertaining, if not technically perfect. Next chapter should be our soon, hopefully. You guys are awesome. Peace._


	10. A Sarah in Anna's Clothing

_A/N: We're finally winding down in this story. Finally moving toward the endgame. What is that endgame you ask? Well, quite frankly, I'm not even sure that I know, but we'll see together. Just wanted to take a quick moment, too, to thank everyone who has taken the time to shoot me a review on this one. As I've said many times, I know this isn't my most popular story, but for my money, I don't know that I have more fun writing anything else, and I want to see how this all ends. So for now, Switch has my complete focus, at least on the writing front. Also, a quick shout-out to BDaddyDL for taking a final readthrough with this. Hopefully this time, we (the royal we, of course) can avoid pronoun errors that make us (royal us) look ridic. _

_Oh, and one other quick note: This chapter is told from the point-of-view of Chuck, as opposed to most other chapters in this story, which have been from either Sarah's or Anna's point-of-views. So don't let that throw you. Anyway, no more notes for now. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 10: A Sarah in Anna's Clothing**

Once, while playing around with some new equipment that had just come into Castle, Chuck accidentally tranqed himself. Casey still hadn't let him live _that_ one down.

Then, there was the two or three week stretch back in January when Casey became obsessed with a blowgun filled with small tranq darts when the NSA agent would regularly knock Chuck out. Be it for his own amusement, or because Chuck had gotten—in Casey's opinion—out of control.

But between those two experiences, and a couple of others that were still a little foggy in Chuck's memory, he had become well aware of the hangover-like effects of getting put under by a tranquilizer. A feeling he had the moment he cracked his eyes open.

His room was dark—wait, how was he in his room?

Chuck tried to remember exactly what had happened. He remembered being on a mission. He remembered Sarah and Casey getting into trouble. He got out of the van, and was going to help them, when…

It was kind of a blur after that. Was he attacked?

Then, as he finally began to gain his wits, he remembered. He was halted by a really tiny, but still terrifying ninja. She—at least he was pretty positive it was a she, as the skin-tight outfit she wore showed off a lot of womanly curves, even in the dark of the building parking lot—told him to stop. He tried to run away, and then…then she tranqed him.

But if he was knocked out by an enemy, what was he doing in his own room? No doubt Sarah and Casey had rescued him. Unless this was all a post-tranq dream.

"You're awake."

Chuck recognized that voice. It was soft, and feminine, but there was a definite edge, and it belonged to…

"Anna?" Chuck asked, confused.

He turned his head, and saw Anna Wu, sitting in his desk chair. And she was wearing a very familiar outfit. It was the same ensemble his attacker had worn. But that couldn't be right. Anna wasn't a spy. She certainly wasn't an enemy spy. And even if she was, why had she brought him back to his apartment?

Perhaps he was having a dream. A very weird dream. Was that tranq coated with something? Chuck had read about DMT, and how users would sometimes report lucid dreams within dreams. Is that what was going on? Was there an injectable form of the drug? Or maybe something similar.

She rose when he looked at her, and began walking over to his bed.

Suddenly, Chuck was fully awake, and he most certainly was not dreaming.

Anna sat on the edge of his bed, and folded her hands in her lap.

"I'm sorry I had to tranq you," she said.

Ah-ha! It was her. But that still didn't make any sense.

"I was just trying—"

Chuck watched her pause and begin to chew on her lip. It wasn't an expression he'd seen Anna make before. It was a nervous habit of Sarah's, though. Had the two of them been hanging out more than Chuck realized? Enough that Anna may have picked up on one of Sarah's mannerisms? That seemed unlikely.

"I was helping Sarah," she said.

"Helping? Anna, do you know what…"

Chuck abandoned his line of thought, as a much more pressing issue occurred to him.

"Anna! You have to—if they see you they'll—"

Chuck jumped out of bed and stumbled across his room, using a pillow he'd taken with him to smother a surveillance camera he knew to be placed on the far wall.

"You have to go before they—"

Anna stood and walked over to him, placing her hand atop his.

"Shhh," she said. "It's okay, Chuck. The surveillance is being looped. No one knows I'm here."

If his head was swimming before, Chuck was pretty sure it was about to explode now. How did Anna know about the surveillance? Why was she so familiar with his spy life? How had she even gotten access to the cameras?

He didn't ask her any of these questions, but by the sympathetic look on her face, he knew she knew he had hundreds of them.

With his hand still in her much smaller hand, she led him back to his bed, and coaxed him into sitting.

"I know you have questions," she said. Which was the understatement of the year. "I'm going to answer all of them as best I can, but I need you listen to what I have to say with an open mind. And I need you to understand that there are some things I can't talk to you about."

Once again, Anna was reminding him of Sarah. That sounded exactly like something Sarah would say.

"First of all, again, I'm sorry I had to tranq you. Sarah wanted me to help, wanted me to make sure you stayed in the car. I don't regret what I did. It was the right thing to do. But I'm sorry you had to experience that."

Chuck nodded.

"Now, I know you're probably wondering how I found out about your spy life."

Again, Chuck nodded.

"Okay, this is one of the things I can't tell you everything about, but suffice it to say that, recently, Sarah and I became closer. Much, _much _closer."

Chuck could tell there was hidden meaning there. What, he couldn't even begin to guess. But if she was determined not to tell him the whole truth, he knew there was nothing he could do to get it out of her.

"Now," she said, taking a deep breath. "There are some more personal things I wanted to talk with you about."

"Personal?" Chuck asked.

"Um, yeah," Anna said. "Look, Chuck, I know you're not really happy in your relationship with Sarah."

"But I—"

"Please, let me finish," Anna said. "The thing is, Sarah's a spy, Chuck. That's all she can ever be. That's all she can be to you. Even if she wants to be more, and I'm sure she does, her job won't let her."

Chuck couldn't make eye contact anymore with Anna. She was far too on-the-button. And she was bringing up his greatest fear, as it related to Sarah.

Anna reached out, and took his hand again, this time cradling it with her other hand.

"But there are others. There are girls that would give anything to be with you. That would give you everything you need."

Chuck's head shot up. Was Anna hitting on him? That just seemed…wrong.

"But you—"

"I'm a normal girl, Chuck. I'm not a spy. I can give you all the things Sarah can't."

"But—Morgan," Chuck managed to stammer out.

Anna sighed. "Chuck, he's not—I want you, not him." She moved her hand to his cheek, and gently stroked his cheek. "I want you, Chuck," she repeated.

Chuck nearly recoiled at her touch. It wasn't that it wasn't pleasant. Her hand was soft, and the way she—no, it was wrong!

Chuck grabbed her hand and brought it away from his face.

"Anna, I can't. And not just because you're with by best friend, which is a reason. But also, because," he paused, and took a deep breath, swallowing nervously. "Because I love Sarah. And I know our relationship is complicated, and I know she might never love me back, but—I can't explain it. It's just that, I've screwed up twice already, and I can't do that again. I can't do that to her, and honestly, I couldn't do it to myself. She makes me happy."

Then, much to his surprise, Anna smiled. He'd just rejected her outright, and she was smiling. Had this been a test? That's the only thing he could think of to rationalize why she'd be happy.

But whatever was making her smile, he could tell by the look of concentration on her face that it was much more complicated than a simple loyalty test. It was something that had given her pause.

They sat in perfect silence for several moments, while Anna continued to appear to think. Then finally, she spoke again.

"Chuck," she said softly, "that's really sweet."

"Gee, thanks for making me feel like I'm eight," he joked, which made her smile only widen.

"But there's something I need to tell you. Something I _really _need to tell you. Then you can make your decision."

She took a deep breath, and seemed to be readying herself for some type of huge revelation.

"When I woke up yesterday, I wasn't myself anymore," she said.

"Yeah, I noticed you were acting a little weird. So was Sarah. Casey said it had something to do with the moon."

For a moment, Anna just looked confused. Then she shook her head side to side, no doubt to regain her focus.

"No, that's not what I mean. I don't mean I was feeling unlike myself. I mean I was literally not myself anymore."

She paused again.

"Chuck, I'm actually—"

* * *

_A/N: Yay for cliffhangers! What will Sarah do? Will she admit her true identity, thereby forever trapping herself in Anna's body, but also giving her the freedom to date Chuck? Will she stop herself? Will someone else stop her? Does anyone other than me care? All those answers and more coming in the next chapter, which should be out, well, whenever I have the time and motivation to write it, haha. You guys are awesome. Peace._


	11. It Shall Set You Free?

_A/N: So it has been far too long since I've really been excited about writing. Since I've been able to sit down, and bust a chapter out at will. I don't know where my motivation went, but honestly, it disappeared sometime in early 2010 (some may remember this, but in 2009, I was like a writing machine; which is not to say it was all good, but there was a lot I put out there). I say that, to say this: I have had more fun, and more motivation since really focusing on this story than I've felt since what I consider to be the "glory days" of Chuck fanfiction. At least, those were MY glory days. _

_So now that all my personal stuff is out of the way, I do need to thank Michael66 so, SO much. As any reader of mine will know, when I'm super excited about writing something, I tend to make errors, because I move so fast. Then I don't notice them, because I wrote it, and I read it (even when I read it aloud) as I intended it to be read. So he courageously volunteered to go through and find all those excited mistakes, and plucked those suckers out for me, and for that, I am eternally grateful._

_Also, I need to send a thank you to PJ Murphy. I know I can be slack about reviewing. Mostly because I do my reading during downtime at work, while I'm trying not to let on that I don't have actual work to do, which leaves me clicking in and out of a window for whatever I'm reading, haha. But that guy, wow. He is almost always one of the first two or three reviews I get for every chapter of every story, and even if it takes a day or two, which is rare, I always get a review from him. You rock, good sir._

_So that's all for now, for this ridiculously long A/N. Now for the story. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 11: It Shall Set You Free?**

Anna paced back and forth. She thought the adrenaline rush from her first mission would have worn off already, and that she would've been ready to crash in Sarah's super comfy bed. But she had no such luck. She was still wide awake.

Worse yet, Sarah didn't have a television. Seriously, who didn't have a TV?

And she didn't have her laptop with her, so Anna was completely void of any source of entertainment.

Hell, she'd even ordered room service in hopes that the waiter would be really cute (after all, it wasn't cheating if you used someone else's body to do it), but even that had failed. Bald 50-somethings just weren't her thing. Even if the open-face shrimp sandwich had been nice, it had only lasted for so long.

Anna was _bored_.

She sighed and collapsed into one of the green chairs overlooking the window. It was actually a pretty great view, but Anna had far too much energy to settle for nice scenery. She needed action. And quick.

It was almost as though the universe was reading her mind. No sooner had she practically begged for something to do, Sarah's phone rang.

Anna quickly crossed the room and picked the iPhone up off the bed. The caller ID was filled with the angry looking mug of John Casey. Maybe there was more mission to be had, yet. Anna swiped the screen to accept the call.

"Casey?" she answered.

"Walker, did you secure the asset like I instructed?"

Anna had to think for a moment. By asset, he meant Chuck. And the real Sarah had taken care of that. Not that she could tell Casey about that.

"Um, yeah. He's safely at home, asleep in his bed." At least Anna assumed he was home in his bed. "I went back to my room."

"What the hell, Walker? I give you a pass to get all snuggly with the nerd, and you hightail it back to your hotel?"

Anna shrugged. Then she realized Casey couldn't see her. "What? He wanted to go to sleep," she said nonchalantly.

"Well maybe he's sleeping well in some Fulcrum holding facility as we speak!" Casey boomed.

Anna wasn't sure what a Fulcrum was, but it sounded bad.

"What do you mean?" Anna asked, hoping the explanation would be as thorough as possible, so she wouldn't feel as lost.

"I had a break during the cleanup, so I checked on the security feed from the moron's room. Wanted to make sure you weren't doing anything unprofessional."

He grunted a laugh at what must have been some kind of inside joke.

"Everything looked fine at first. Bartowski was fast asleep, just like you said. Figured you either shut him down cold, or he was really quick on the draw, and you were done."

There seemed to be a pattern, Anna noticed. The more he went on, the less subtle Casey was in suggesting she had slept with Chuck. Or the real Sarah had, but in her own body, of course. It was all very confusing.

"But then I noticed something. In the top left corner of the screen, there was a small flicker. Over and over again, a flicker. Every thirty seconds."

Anna didn't have to be a spy to know what that meant. She'd seen enough television in her day to know exactly what Casey was getting at.

"Looped footage!" she shouted, jumping up off her bed.

"Right," Casey said. "And if you didn't do it, that means, well—"

Well, it could mean any number of things. It could mean that Sarah was having her way with Chuck, while there were no repercussions, and didn't want Casey to see it. Anna wouldn't begrudge Sarah the use of her body. It's wasn't like she was a virgin or anything. It wasn't even like she wouldn't have given her body to Chuck herself. If he was free and interested, and she wasn't dating his best friend, of course. Not to mention, Anna had been itching to take Sarah's body out for a spin. So she totally wouldn't blame Sarah.

But on the much more sinister and much less fun side, it could mean that Chuck had been captured. But it wasn't worth risking the latter in order to avoid seeing the former. Even Anna knew that.

"What are we going to do?" she asked helplessly. After all, she didn't know how to drive Sarah's car, so she couldn't get to Chuck's place. And even if she could, it's not like she would be a lot of help.

"I'm on the way now," Casey barked into the phone. "I'll swing by and grab you on the way. Be outside waiting."

One of the best parts of being a spy, Anna decided on the way to Chuck's apartment, was that you could drive as fast as you wanted with no fear of legal repercussions. And Casey had to be breaking some sort of land-speed record with the way he careened through traffic in the black Suburban.

But not only was John Casey apparently an excellent, if frighteningly aggressive driver. He was also dead silent. Anna was quietly thankful for that. She wasn't sure what she would've said if he'd asked her any questions. She nearly broke down and told him the whole truth based solely on the withering glare he shot her when she'd gotten into the truck.

They came to a screeching halt outside Chuck's apartment complex. Casey cracked open his door and pulled a firearm from his shoulder holster. He then made a series of hand gestures, pointing at his chest, then his eyes, then at Anna, then making a jerking motion with his thumb. Anna didn't know what any of it meant, but whatever it was supposed to mean, she figured she'd just follow Casey and be there for emotional support. The only other thing she could offer would be to call the real Sarah, but it seemed too late to try that.

Anna climbed out of the car, and padded as softly as she could behind Casey, who was slinking through the arches at the complex entrance, before pressing himself against a wall.

Then a thought occurred to Anna.

"What about Devon and Ellie?"

She wasn't sure if Chuck's sister and her boyfriend knew about the whole spy thing. It didn't seem likely; Morgan was always telling her how afraid Chuck was that he was disappointing his sister.

"Overnight shift," Casey whispered in reply. "Shhh."

Anna stalked closely behind Casey as he reached for what looked to be Chuck's bedroom window. At least, as best Anna could remember, it was his bedroom window.

With nothing else to do, Anna pressed her ear to the wall to see if she could hear anything. It was muffled by the stucco, but she could make out a voice—_her _voice. Or at least what used to be her voice, and would soon be her voice again if everything worked out. But what was Sarah saying?

There was a long sentence, and Anna could only make out a few words because not only was there a wall in the way, but Sarah was talking really fast. Then there was a pause. Then…

"Chuck," Anna heard Sarah say clearly. "I'm actually—"

Casey jerked the window open (Chuck seriously needed to learn to lock his window, what with the whole being a spy and all), and aimed his weapon.

"Freeze!" he shouted.

Anna felt her body flood first with panic, then relief when Sarah was interrupted. Was she really going to reveal their secret?

"Wu?" Casey asked, clearly confused. He relaxed his aim, but didn't drop it all together.

"Casey?" Sarah asked.

Anna shuffled her feet to stand behind Casey, looking into Chuck's bedroom. Fortunately, at least in Anna's eyes, she wasn't subjected to the visual of a naked Chuck Bartowski, writhing around with Anna's own body, under the control of someone else. Instead, she saw a shocked Chuck Bartowski and an agitated Sarah.

"What the hell are you doing here, Wu? Don't you have a troll boyfriend somewhere?"

"No, Casey," Sarah said, swallowing. "It's not—it's not what you think. At all. It's just, I'm just—I was just telling Chuck—"

"_Anna_," Anna said threateningly, reminding Sarah who she was supposed to be. Warning her that outing their body-switching incident would end poorly. For everyone.

"Bartowski," Casey said dangerously. "Put it back in your pants, and step outside for a moment. We need to talk."

"But nothing's out of my—"

"Now!" the big man growled.

Hesitantly, Chuck rose from his bed, and patted Sarah on the leg.

"I'll be back in a second, and you can finish telling me," Chuck paused, just for a second, turning his head to face Casey and raising his voice, "the important thing you were going to _tell_ me. Not doing anything inappropriate for two people who are in relationships. Well, one who is in a relationship, and one who is in a cover relationship, but still, she was just telling me something important."

That last bit was clearly for Anna's benefit. Or actually for Sarah's benefit, except that Chuck didn't know he was talking to Sarah already.

Cautiously, Chuck stepped out of his window, one long gangly leg at a time. Once on the ground, he turned around and shut the window behind him. No doubt trying to prevent who he perceived to be Anna from hearing the coming tongue-lashing.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Casey barked.

Anna wanted to ask Sarah a similar question, but that would have to wait.

"I was just—"

Chuck paused.

"What do you mean?"

"The security feed, dumb ass," Casey said. "Why did you screw with it? And more importantly, how'd you get into my apartment to do it?"

"I—I didn't do anything to the surveillance," he said, swallowing. "It was Anna."

"Wu?" Casey asked skeptically.

"No, Anna Torv," Chuck said sarcastically. Then after seeing Casey's blank expression, he continued. "The female lead in JJ Abrams' brilliant new show about—you know what, you're probably not interested."

Casey grunted.

"But yeah, Anna said she's been working with Sarah, and that—"

"Walker, you want to explain that?" Casey said, interrupting Chuck and turning to face Anna.

Anna was at a loss. What was she supposed to say? She was well aware that she had to look like the proverbial deer-in-the-headlights, but there was nothing she could do. She'd been blindsided.

"You brought _another_ civilian into the fold? Without authorization? Look, I know your lady parts are probably acting up because of the full moon and all—"

"That's not a real thing, John," Anna growled. "The moon has nothing to do with our reproductive cycles."

Despite the fact that she was at a major disadvantage in their current conversation, Anna was still not going to deal with some endless stream of misogyny. And inaccurate misogyny at that.

"Well what the hell is wrong with you, then?" Casey asked. "Why would you bring a civilian in? I highly doubt that Beckman approved that. And even if she did, a civilian that is capable of taking our surveillance offline? And that would actually do it? I repeat, what the hell—"

Casey's verbal tirade was cut off as Chuck's window slid open, and Sarah leaned out. All three sets of eyes turned to her in surprise. Then the surprise only grew.

Sarah grabbed Chuck by the collar, and pulled him to her, crashing her lips against his before he could even react. Chuck struggled to get away from her, but Sarah was having none of that.

It wasn't a long kiss. Maybe ten seconds, Sarah pressed her lips against Chuck's. Still, she was a little winded when she pulled away. She took two deep breaths and turned her head so that she was facing all three of the people outside the window.

"Chuck, Casey, I'm Sarah, and Anna is in my body," Sarah said, as quickly as she possibly could.

"Sarah, no!" Anna shouted. But it was no use. Sarah was not to be deterred.

"We switched. It's all Anna's fault, but I'm Sarah. And Chuck," Sarah paused just momentarily from the breakneck speed she'd been speaking at and looked directly into Chuck's eyes. "I love you."

* * *

_A/N: Annnnd that's all for now. And here's some good news: The next chapter? About 50% complete already. I probably would've finished it this weekend, except that when I emailed it to myself so I could work on it at home (it's saved on my work computer), I goofed and send chapter 11 again. So, yeah, can't really work on that. So instead, I'm making notes for upcoming chapters of this (probably 2 more), other stories I want to complete (Breaking Out and College Years), and a Dragon Age fic I want to write (Ellissa Cousland as a Fereldon socialite). So, yeah, there's that. I hope you, the few that brave my writing, are still enjoying the story, and I look forward to your feedback. You guys are awesome. Peace. _


	12. Why the Caged Sarah Sings

_A/N: Okay, so there's some stuff in this chapter that, well, I'll address it more in the second note, after the chapter, so as not to spoil anyone who reads this first (as is intended). Suffice it to say, that things get a little wacky here. But would it truly be one of my stories if there was no wakiness? I think not. Now, one of the advantages to writing a slightly less popular story? I can address my reviewers right here in the A/N! And so I shall._

_**KryptonitePoison: **Mhmm, that's the long and short of it. Though, as you'll see, things are more complicated than that, but Sarah was deciding, in the last chapter, to make a sacrifice to get the thing (or person) she wanted most. Therein lies the inherent drama._

_**P.J. Murphy: **No worries, dude. You still reviewed, and for that, I'm am very grateful._

_**Devangel6: **Thanks for reading! Glad you're digging the story!_

_**Zerectica: **Oh, Z. What would I do without you? Thank you SO much for your support of this story. You and I definitely see eye-to-eye in our adoration of Anna Wu, and yes, the visual of Sarah-as-Anna leaning out a window to steal a kiss from Chuck is amazing. It would've made a GREAT icon!_

_**Michael66: **Heh, courage or not, it was appreciaed. And it's appreciated again, here, as you managed to catch a number of my foibles. You rock, good sir, and thank you for editing my flub-ups, and then for reviewing on top of that! Maybe one day we'll get that musical… _

_And now, onto the story!_

* * *

**Chapter 12: Why the Caged Sarah Sings**

Sarah sat in the Castle holding cell where Casey had her locked-up. With her back against the wall, her legs dangled over the edge of the bench, a good three or four inches off the ground, which was a feeling she could get used to, quite frankly. It made her feel like a little girl, again. Like the Sam she was before her Red Test, before the CAT Squad, before Langston Graham ever conscripted her into the CIA, and even before she went on the run with her dad when she was ten years old.

She'd hit a big growth spurt at twelve, and spent the rest of her teen years as an awkward, gangly, Amazon of a young woman—at least compared to her peers.

That was one of the things she loved about Chuck. He was actually taller than her. He made her feel like a girl. She had to stand on tip-toes to kiss him. She could wear heels without dwarfing her man. Now, he was _way_ taller than her. She loved that, too.

_Love, love, love._

It felt good to say it, now that it was out there. True, she'd quietly admitted to herself, in the privacy of her bedroom that she was in love with her asset, but to tell him to his face—to tell the world that she loved Chuck Bartowski, well, it was like a huge burden had been lifted off of her.

Intellectually, Sarah knew she should be freaking out. Anna had told her that revealing their secret switch to anyone would doom them to spend the rest of their lives in the other's body, but she had done it anyway. She'd sealed her own fate. She'd insured that the rest of her days would be spent as Anna Wu.

But for whatever reason, Sarah was fine with that. In many ways, she was quite happy about it, in fact.

First of all, by becoming Anna Wu, she was free to love whomever she chose. And she chose Chuck, who would've been absolutely off limits when she was still Sarah Walker.

Also, it felt empowering to know that she and she alone had decided her fate. It wasn't an order from a superior, it wasn't some stupid rule, put in place by people she'd never met, and who didn't know her situation from Adam. It was her. She'd decided how her life would turn out, and all the bureaucrats in Washington could piss off with their regulations.

And finally, it felt good to know that she would never have to change identities again. While it had been exciting in her teens, and a source of familiar comfort in her early twenties (odd though it may have been, finding a sense of familiarity in the unfamiliar), she was ready to just be herself. And now, she could be only who she was: Anna Wu.

When she was first locked away, Sarah had tried to eavesdrop on the conversations going on in Castle's main room, but whatever could be said about their secret base, one couldn't deny that spoken word was secure. At least in the central chamber, when the potential eavesdropper was in the holding cells. She didn't hear a peep. So she just sat and twiddled her thumbs in her cell, contemplating her new life, and what was to come.

Thankfully, they'd at least removed her blindfold before locking her away. Otherwise, Sarah was sure she would have fallen asleep. Sure, there was a lot going on, and she'd gotten a major rush, revealing her identity _and_ the truth of her feelings all in one fell swoop. But still, it had been a long night, and it was all starting to catch up with her.

Sarah was just finishing a yawn when she saw Anna, in Sarah's former body, walk onto the hall of cells with a phone to her ear. Finally, something Sarah could listen in on.

"Amy?" Sarah heard Anna say. "Yes, I know it's late. Early. Whatever. But it's an emergency."

There was a pause, as Anna was no doubt listening to the person on the other end.

"Yes, I know it's weird hearing my words with this voice, I haven't gotten used to it either." Another pause. "Well, yeah, that would be way stranger, but I don't think I could call you if I were a mouse. Look, Amy, I—no, it's just—"

Anna let out an exasperated breath, and brushed the hair out of her face with her hand.

"Amy, I need your help on this, okay? The girl I switched with? She told people about our change." More silence. "Well you said—no, you told me—"

Dammit. Sarah would give anything to be able to hear the other end of that call. Well, almost anything. She wouldn't give up Chuck, now that she could have him.

"Okay, well if you were just screwing with me, then how _do_ I reverse this? Yes, I know you spent years as a mouse, but you couldn't speak. It's not as though you would've been able to speak the words of a spell even if you knew how to change yourself back. I on the other hand—"

_No! _Anna couldn't change them back now. Sarah had come to grips with being Anna Wu forever. She was going to get a clean break from being a spy, a new start in life, and a chance to be with the man she loved. Anna couldn't take that away from her. Not now. Not _ever_.

But whatever magics Anna practiced, mindreading obviously wasn't one of them, as she continued to talk to her purported Wiccan mentor.

"Okay, fine. Yeah, I'll come by in the morning." A pause and an eye-roll. "Yes, late in the morning, after you've had time to sleep. Thanks again, Amy."

Sarah walked over to the sliding glass door of the cell, and began to pound on it to get Anna's attention.

"Anna!" she yelled. "Anna, what's going on?"

Sighing, Anna slipped her phone into her back pocket, and dragged her feet over to Sarah's cell.

"I was on the phone with Amy, my mentor," Anna said.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I gathered that much. What's going on?"

"Well," Anna said, "it turns out we may not be stuck like this after all. No thanks to you. Didn't I tell you—"

Sarah saw red. "First of all," she said, cutting Anna off, "we wouldn't even _be_ in this situation if it wasn't for your meddling."

"Well, yeah, but—"

"No, let me finish," Sarah said. "And second of all, I've decided that I _want_ to stay like this. I want to be free to be with Chuck, and I can, if I'm you. So, yeah, I think you owe me that much, after what you did."

Sarah recognized the scowl on the other woman's face. It was the expression she'd seen in the mirror for the first 28 years of her life, whenever she was in a bad mood.

"I don't owe you anything," Anna growled. "I especially don't owe you my body. My identity. I tried to help you, and it got screwed up, sure, but I'm not becoming Sarah Walker, or whatever the hell your real name is, just because you have your eye on some forbidden fruit."

The implication in that last bit was clear to Sarah. Anna was calling her feelings for Chuck a mere crush. She was trivializing the love she felt for her former asset.

"Don't you _dare_ think that what I feel for Chuck isn't real," Sarah said threateningly.

"Or you'll what? Glare at me through the cell door? Oh wait, you're already doing that."

Anna took a deep breath.

"Look, I'm sorry if you feel like I'm minimizing how you feel. Believe me, I know exactly how it feels to love someone you shouldn't. I mean, I _am_ in a relationship with Morgan."

"That's hardly the same thing," Sarah said.

Anna shrugged. "True, there are no laws preventing me from dating Morgan, but there's the whole social-standing thing. By all rights, Morgan shouldn't even be able to pleasure himself to a picture of me, but I still have feelings for him."

Sarah sighed. "Okay, that's fair," she said meekly. "Look, let's not talk about this through a pane of bulletproof glass. Can you open the door?"

Anna bristled, then seemed to relax after a moment of contemplation. "Fine," she said. "What's the code?"

"It's 447-832-576-5081," Sarah answered.

As Anna inputted the code to open the cell, Sarah went back to sit on her bench. The door slid open, and Sarah patted the seat beside her, inviting Anna over. Tentatively, Anna walked over and took a seat.

"So I take it everyone just thinks I'm a batshit crazy Anna Wu?" Sarah asked.

"Um, more or less," Anna said. "I did as much damage control as I could. I think Chuck believed you. At least a little. He still may have his doubts. But Casey and the mean lady—"

"General Beckman," Sarah corrected.

"Yeah, her—which, she was _pissed_ about being woken up so late, by the way."

"I can imagine," Sarah said.

"Yeah, well they were mad at me for bringing you into the loop. Or mad at you for, well, you get it."

"Right."

"But anyway, they're both convinced you just had a nervous break, probably because of the mission tonight, so they're going to arrange for you to 'win' an all expenses paid cruise, which will be otherwise filled with trusted agents, and psychology experts who are going to convince you all of this was just your imagination run wild."

"Chuck and Casey thought this was a good idea?" Sarah asked.

"Well, Chuck didn't, of course. But like I said, he kind of still believes the truth. Casey thought it was a good idea, though. He even convinced the lady—"

"Beckman," Sarah corrected again.

"Yeah, convinced Beckman that you should get to take Morgan along. Your sessions with the shrink will be disguised as spa treatments."

Sarah thought about that for a moment. Anna seemed far too calm about having her body set at sea.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"Well, by the time they send you away, I plan to be me again, which means it'll be me who gets a free vacation, with Morgan, and you can go back to doing the spy thing. Everybody wins," Anna explained.

_Not everyone_, Sarah thought. She wouldn't win in that scenario. She'd have to go back to being in a cover relationship with Chuck. She'd have to hide her feelings again. That sounded awful. Like the worst thing she could imagine. But she had to learn more.

"So how do we switch back?" Sarah asked.

"Oh," Anna said. "So after Chuck and Casey left—"

"They're gone?" Sarah asked, cutting Anna off.

"Um, yeah, they left after the meeting. Casey was driving Chuck home. But as I was saying, once they were gone, I called Amy, and she told me that there's a ritual I have to perform, and everything will go back to normal. She was just screwing with me about the not telling anyone, and the happiness thing. Said she was trying to teach me a lesson about playing around with magic I don't understand."

"So that's it, huh? We'll just go back to our lives like they were before?"

"Pretty much," Anna said, shrugging. "The only catch is, it's time sensitive. I have to do it before midnight tomorrow."

"Oh?" Sarah said. "Are you going to be able to get it done?"

She was afraid the calmness in her voice would alert Anna that she was plotting. No sane human would be so calm in the face of losing their identity forever. Unless, of course, that sane person was in favor of such a change. But fortunately, for Sarah at least, Anna didn't seem to notice anything.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem," Anna said. "Amy said she has all the stuff at her place, and that she'll help me perform the ritual. So we should be back to our old selves soon enough."

"That's great," Sarah said, forcing the biggest smile she could. "Well, it has been an experience being you, Anna Wu."

"Likewise," Anna said.

Sarah opened her arms, and Anna leaned into her, without a thought. It was an odd experience, Sarah decided, hugging her own body. But it was necessary.

Anna was wearing downtime outfit G-17—Sarah had long ago organized the clothing she kept at Castle into a grid-based selection system during one of the many boring, mission-less days she was down there—which featured a rather plain pair of jeans, and a lavender blouse, with pockets on either sleeve. The pocket on the right sleeve, Sarah knew, contained a very small vile of a very potent tranquilizer, designed to absorb immediately into the blood stream when it came into contact with the skin. She knew if she just…

Sarah felt the fragile glass shatter under the pressure she applied, and jerked back from the hug, so not to touch the liquid herself.

"Wha—"

Anna couldn't even get the question out. She tried to stand, but found her legs useless, and collapsed to the floor. With her last ounce of strength, she looked up at Sarah, who was standing over her, and mouthed a question Sarah had no trouble understanding. _Why?_

"I'm sorry," Sarah said, as she gently liberated Anna's phone from her front pocket before walking to the sliding door of the cell. "I really am, but I can't let you change me back."

Sarah keyed in the first six digits of the code to lock the cell. "I have to go get the man I love."

She punched in the final six numbers, leaving a helpless, unconscious Anna a huddled mess on the floor of the cell, and made a beeline for Castle's emergency exit. She had to get to Chuck and convince him she was telling the truth.

And then, she had to find this Amy and make sure nothing happened to derail her plan.

* * *

_A/N: Now for this. So before you guys rip me a new one, let me explain. And I hate doing this, but I feel I must. So Sarah may come off a bit unlikable here. That is not, I assure you, my intention. But she's desperate. She has everything she suddenly wants on the table, and as we know from canon, Sarah Walker is not above taking drastic measures to achieve her goals. And she's not above taking what's not properly hers. She was, after all, the daughter of a con man. And she's not a sucker. So there's my qualification, and explanation for Sarah's actions. I do look forward to hearing your take (all of you, of course) on all of this. You guys are awesome. Peace. _


	13. Who Loves Ya?

_A/N: I'll be honest here. This chapter? Probably could've or should've been included in the last chapter. Maybe. I don't know. But it was important that it was separate from the next chapter, in any case. This one is kind of fluffy, in a really messed up way. Which is, I think, the only way I can do fluff. No, seriously, look at my catalogue. The fluffiest stories I have contain the following things: Chuck and Sarah hooking up while under the influence of alcohol, Chuck's "ghost" rescuing Sarah from self-loathing, Morgan telling Sarah that she should be with Chuck (Morgan!), and Sarah and Chuck on dates with Shaw and Hannah respectively. So, yeah, straight fluff isn't really in my wheelhouse. This chapter is about as close as I come._

_**Zerectica: **Poor Anna is right! She was just trying to be a friend, and it came back to bite her. Anna is certainly a sympathetic character right now. But I love her too much to let her suffer too long, haha._

_**KryptonitePoison: **Maybe next time? Heh, you called it. _

_**TioPaco: **Glad you like the story, and even happier that you understood Sarah's motivation. As we saw as recently as Chuck vs. The Baby, Sarah is prone to flights of seemingly irrational behavior when she sets her mind to something. That's what I'm trying to convey here._

_**P.J. Murphy: **Oh yeah, I feel bad for Anna, too. But I went to the Frea O'Scanlin school of torturing the characters I love, haha. But I don't know how little Sarah has to fear in this instance. Remember, this story is set before the 49B, so it stands to reason that her feelings getting would cause an unfavorable outcome for her._

_**Devangel6: **Heh, well all of that will be addressed in future chapters. It's more complicated than you imagine, I'm willing to bet. But simple is boring, right?_

* * *

**Chapter 13: Who Loves Ya?**

Sarah knew she was on a ticking clock the second she stepped out of the Buy More. While the tranquilizer she'd used on Anna was intended to last a full twelve hours, Sarah had been trained to be resistant to the effects of such drugs. That training involved being put under over and over again, until her body built up a tolerance. And while she didn't really understand how Anna's magic worked, she was pretty sure it didn't change the chemical makeup of her body. That meant Anna would probably come-to in six hours, at the most, without any aid.

And even if Anna didn't wake up on her own, it was already 2 AM, and Casey would no doubt be in Castle to check on the prisoner by 8. That gave Sarah less than six hours to complete her mission.

Her first stop was her hotel. If she was going to get everything done, she needed to be able to get around, and quick. And she did take a certain thrill in being back behind the wheel of her beloved Porsche.

She had to adjust the position of the seat when she got in. That in-and-of-itself was a little odd. No one ever drove her car but her. Ever. In fact, Sarah couldn't remember the last time she'd had to adjust the seat. Maybe never. But once she was on the highway, she felt right back at home in her car.

Her next stop was Echo Park. She had to see Chuck. Had to let him know that she was telling the truth, that she _was_ Sarah. And that in a matter of hours, they would be free to be together.

She pulled up outside the apartment complex, and sat in the dark contemplating how she should talk to him. She'd already screwed with the cameras once, and Casey was no doubt on high alert to keep it from happening again. He was probably still awake, watching the surveillance in fact.

She could risk sneaking into Chuck's room. She could probably reach him, and have a brief discussion before Casey was alerted. But then when she fled, he'd pursue her, and that would add a level of difficulty her task that she wasn't prepared to face. Not to mention she didn't want to be rushed when she talked to Chuck.

No, the best way, she decided, was to call Chuck and have him meet her.

Sarah stared at the two phones she had in her possession. A call from Anna's phone would no doubt draw unwelcome suspicion. Especially if Casey was watching the feeds, as she suspected he was.

So she pulled up the contact list on her own phone, and selected Chuck's name.

If Casey saw that it was Sarah—whom he perceived to be the real Sarah calling, he'd probably ignore it. He probably wouldn't even bat an eyelash when Chuck left his room to meet with her. It wasn't uncommon for her to pull Chuck aside for a private conversation after a mission. Especially one with high emotional impact. Casey generally wrote such meetings off to the two of them "discussing their lady feelings."

Chuck answered on the third ring.

"'Ello," he said groggily.

"Chuck," she said, "it's Sarah."

"Sar—"

"Don't say anything," she demanded. "I know it sounds like Anna. And in a way, it kind of is. At least her body. But, dammit, this is really complicated. I'm sorry about that, but I want to explain everything to you. But I can't do it while Casey is watching."

"But—"

"Chuck!" She said. "You can't speak right now. I know Casey is listening. Anyway, I want to tell you everything, but you need to come outside. I'm waiting in my car—the Porsche."

"But I—"

"Please Chuck," Sarah said, her voice growing desperate. "I know this is a lot to take in. But I really need to talk to you. I need to help you understand. But first, I need you to come talk to me."

Chuck didn't reply, and Sarah's desperation only grew.

"Chuck, please. I really need you to trust me."

The pause lasted a moment longer, and then she heard Chuck sigh.

"Fine," he said. "I really hope I'm not doing the wrong thing, trusting you."

He disconnected the call, and Sarah slid her phone back into her front pocket. Finally relaxing a little, she allowed her head to lull back against the seat.

It seemed like an eternity, even though it probably only took a couple of minutes before the passenger side door swung open. Sarah tensed, and held her breath. She had the meeting she'd asked for, but she honestly didn't know how she should start.

Fortunately, Chuck broke the ice for her.

"You know, if you're _not_ the real Sarah, I'm pretty sure, wherever she is, she's going to kill you for driving her car," he said, climbing into the car and shutting the door behind him.

Sarah couldn't help but to chuckle a little.

"If I wasn't the real Sarah," she said sardonically, "do you really think I'd have to balls to even get in the driver's seat?"

Chuck seemed to contemplate that for a moment. "You know, you make a good point."

Sarah shrugged. "I do that sometimes," she said. "Like when I tell you to stay in the car."

"Hey, I—"

Sarah laughed again, and pressed a finger to Chuck's lips to quiet him.

"That's not what I'm here to discuss," she said.

It took a moment for the smile to fall from her face, but what she had to say was serious, and she needed to treat it as such.

"I wasn't lying," she said.

Chuck looked confused.

"In the courtyard," she clarified. "After I kissed you. I _am_ Sarah. I don't know how it happened exactly. Except that, Anna knows some type of magic, and she made it happen."

"That's a little far-fetched," Chuck said.

Sarah cocked an eyebrow at him. "Seriously?" she said. "You have a computer stuck in your head."

Once again, Chuck seemed to think over her words.

"Point," he said simply.

"Anyway, so whatever she did to make us change, Anna is convinced she can change us back. And she's going to do it, later today if I can't stop her."

"Stop her?" Chuck asked, confused. "Why would you stop her?"

Sarah heaved a deep sigh.

"Look, at first, I was really pissed off, and freaked out about all of this," she said. "The only thing I wanted was to get my body back, and to go back to the way things were."

"But now?" Chuck asked.

"Now," Sarah said, pausing. "Now, I'm starting to see another side to it."

"What side is that?"

"The side with you on it," Sarah said. "The side where you and I can go out on dates. Where I can kiss you, not for cover, but because I _want _to. Where I don't have to worry about reassignment just because I have feelings for you."

A silence fell between them, and Sarah started to fear what Chuck would say. She'd put everything out there. There was no going back, even if Chuck rejected her.

"So you weren't lying in the courtyard?" he asked.

The question threw Sarah a little. "No?" she answered. "I mean yes?" She paused and cleared her thoughts. "I mean I wasn't lying. It was all true."

"Even the part about you loving me?"

In the darkness, she didn't think Chuck could see the color drain from her skin. She wasn't even sure what her current face looked like when it was embarrassed. Anna Wu didn't seem to ever grow shy about anything. But Sarah Walker was not Anna Wu in any way other than body.

"Um," she said. "Yes," she said meekly. "Yes, it's true."

The expression on Chuck's face started with a crooked half-smile, but quickly grew into the biggest, shit-eating grin Sarah had ever seen.

"You love me," he said.

Sarah was sure he didn't intend to taunt her, but she was embarrassed. Expressing her feelings was _not_ something that came naturally to her, no matter whose body she was in.

"Yeah? Well you love me, too," she said in an accusatory tone.

Chuck fell silent, and the smile that had lit his face disappeared. Sarah felt her heart drop into her stomach. He did love her, right? She wasn't doing all of this for nothing, was she? She knew he was attracted to her, but did he love the real her? The one he claimed to know months ago, over a shared cheeseburger, after her high school reunion fiasco?

"Chuck, you do love me, don't you?" she asked.

"I—"

It felt like someone was ripping her soul from her body. All along, she'd been operating under the assumption that Chuck felt the same way she did, and if all the obstacles in their way were removed, that they could be together.

"I do love you," he said.

Four words. That's all it took to bring her back from the brink. Those four words that let her breathe again.

"Although," Chuck said, and Sarah tensed again. "I never imagined saying that to Anna Wu."

"You're not saying it to Anna," Sarah said defensively. "You're saying it to me. Sarah."

"But you look like—"

"Do looks matter?" she asked as nonchalantly as she could. His answer could break her heart, but she had to know.

"No," he said. "Well, I mean, there's the whole initial attraction thing, but even that, Anna's a beautiful girl, so it's not like you're suddenly hideous or anything, but it's just, I came to know you as you, and now you're—"

"So you're not attracted to me anymore?"

_Do. Not. Cry._

"Of course I am!" Chuck said. "My point is, I fell in love with you. Sarah Walker. Not the way you look, but the real you. The one you try to hide from the world, but that I see. The one who protects me, not just because it's her job, but because she really cares about me. I love _you_."

That was, without a doubt, the absolute best answer he could've given. If she wasn't already in love with him—which she obviously was, seeing as she was willing to sacrifice her very identity just to be with him, she would've fallen at that moment.

"I think you should kiss me now," she said.

Unlike "stay in the car," apparently "kiss me" was an order Chuck could follow. Sarah was grateful for that.

His lips were so soft, so sweet, moving against her own. There was nothing she wanted more, at that moment, than to take him back to his bedroom and finish what had been building since the first time she met Chuck Bartowski. But that would have to wait. There was still work to do.

"Chuck," she mumbled, as she regretfully pulled away from the kiss. "I have to go now. I have to—I can't give this up."

"I—but can't you—"

Chuck stopped and took a deep breath, no doubt to center himself. Sarah couldn't blame him. She was still a little lightheaded, herself.

"Why don't you just talk to Anna? Maybe she'll see—"

"I tried," Sarah said frankly. "She wouldn't listen to reason."

Silence washed over them again, and Sarah could see Chuck working out the hidden meaning behind her words in his head.

"Sarah, tell me you didn't hurt Anna."

"Umm, no, she's not hurt," Sarah said evasively.

"Wait," Chuck said in that "ah-ha" tone he got whenever he'd figured something out. Or flashed on something. Sarah was pretty sure it was the former, in this case. "How did you get out of Castle?"

"Don't be mad," Sarah said, taking Chuck's hands in hers and holding them firmly. As if she could quell any potential anger that may arise if she kept him bound to her. "I kind of tricked Anna into letting me out, and then I tranqued her."

"Sarah!"

"Please Chuck, I need you to understand," she said. "She was going to switch us back, and I don't want that. I want you. So I just did what I had to do."

"This isn't right," Chuck grumbled.

"It's not perfect," Sarah conceded. "And I'm sorry I had to knock Anna out. But she'll understand. At least I hope she will. I just—I'm tired of all the lying, and pretending I don't feel these things for you, and now I have a way to put that all behind me, to start a new life, and I can't give that up."

"Sarah—"

"Chuck, please," Sarah begged. "I need you to trust me. More than ever. I'm going to make this all work, but I can't do that if you don't trust me."

Chuck deflated.

"I do trust you," he said. "I always trust you."

"Good," Sarah said.

She leaned over and kissed Chuck's cheek.

"Now, get back inside before Casey starts to suspect something, and comes looking for you."

"This is all crazy," Chuck said, and he opened the door.

"I know," Sarah answered. "It is. But you believe me, right?"

"I don't know why," Chuck said. "But I've believed you all along."

"That's why I love you," Sarah said. "I promise, this will all be over soon."

Chuck climbed out of the car, and shut the door behind him. Sarah watched as he disappeared back into the courtyard. She only hoped she could keep her promise. But she would need the help of this Amy character. Her mission was only starting.

* * *

_A/N: Once again, I must thank **Michael66 **for giving this a read-through. In the end, I decided not to go too dark, as this has always been more of a fun, humorous story. But still, it was good to kind of talk it out. And also, thanks for catching my errors. You're the man! And all of you readers are the men/women, too. You guys are awesome. Peace._


	14. Wake Up Little Anna

_A/N: First of all, thank you ever so much to Michael666 for giving me a beta on this, again. Not just a couple of mistakes, did he find. Some of it was just inexcusable. Except that I'm still sick. Yes, I know I wasn't sick when I wrote it. I still reserve the right for a future summer cold to have been the reason for my errors, haha. Okay, so in this chapter, we get back to some Anna. Or AnnaSarah, whatever you want to call her. It's really getting to be go-time in this story, and things are heating up. I hope you enjoy it!_

_**P.J. Murphy: **You make a good point, and don't give up on Chuck's goodness just yet. But right now, he's under the Sarah influence. That can be a powerful drug, whether she's in her body or not._

_**TioPaco: **Thank you! Yes, Sarah is a confident woman. When she's spying. But when it comes to matters of the heart, she's still a scared little girl, in a lot of ways. She's not so "emotionally developed" as some would say. This is one of the things that keeps her endearing in this story, I think, whereas if she didn't have those deficencies, she could just come off as cold and uncaring of others._

_**Devangel6: **Hehe, things are heating up! Thanks for the review._

_**Zerctica: **Yeah, that's still a story that I'm VERY proud of. A traditional holiday tale? Not at all, but what's the fun in being traditional, right? And yeah, Sarah being evasive is fun for me to write, and even more, to visualize, as you know she was getting flustered._

_**Michael: **I think if we look at banner, it would say "Michael Love Fluff." And that's your Arrested Development reference of the day. I thank you._

_**KryptonitePoinson: **There's a line between belief, and knowing, and I think that's where Chuck was. Logically, he knew it didn't make sense. And he was confused, but deep down, his gut was revealing the truth to him._

_**Fire From Above: **Yay! I was so happy that you were reading/reviewing this story again, especially because it was prompted by you to begin with. Heh, Morgan? Well, I don't know that it will get to that point, but I think it's safe to say that the bearded guy would be VERY confused. Thanks for the review!_

* * *

**Chapter 14: Wake Up Little Anna**

The sound that Anna made was somewhere between a growl, a gasp, and a raspberry as she was slammed, kicking and flailing back into the world of the conscious.

"Jesus, Walker," Casey said, touching his lip where Anna's fist had accidentally struck him. "It's just smelling salt."

Anna was fully awake, the obnoxious smell of ammonia still burning in her nostrils, but to say she was disoriented would be a mild understatement.

Whipping her head from side to side, she did her best to evaluate her situation. She was on a hard floor inside the secret spy base, she was still fully dressed, and Casey, who she had to remind herself still thought she was Sarah, had to wake her with smelling salts.

"Wha—"

Her question died on her lips, as the memories of the previous night flooded into her mind. She went on her first mission, then Sarah revealed their secret to Chuck and Casey, then they locked Sarah away, then Amy told Anna she would help in reversing the spell, then Sarah tricked her into opening her cell door, and Sarah escaped, leaving her unconscious.

"What the hell happened?" Casey demanded.

"Sar—Anna got away!" she replied.

"Well, no shit," Casey grumbled. "I'm asking how."

"She, um, I went in to talk with her, and then I hugged her, and she drugged me, somehow, and then she ran," Anna said.

Casey pointed to the stain on Anna's right sleeve.

"I'm guessing you had a vile of 3471-A in that pocket."

"Say that again?" Anna asked, confused.

Casey rolled his eyes. "Coma-in-a-can," he said, as if that should explain everything. "Wake up already."

Anna thought for a minute. All of that stuff would probably make perfect sense if she was indeed Sarah Walker, as Casey thought. And she didn't want to disabuse him of that notion, as she needed his help to track down the real Sarah before anything was done to prevent her from putting things right. Sarah was, after all, no doubt doing everything in her power to make their change permanent, based on the things she'd told Anna the previous night.

"Oh, right, that," Anna said, feigning recollection.

She stood on still wobbly legs, and stretched her long arms above her head. Sleeping on a concrete floor was hell on her back. Or Sarah's back, at least. Made sense, what with Sarah being at least half a decade older than Anna.

"We need to go after her," Anna said, moving carefully to the door.

"Yeah, we do," Casey conceded. "But you need to be honest with me here."

Anna swallowed nervously. She wasn't in peak condition at all, and she wasn't confident in her ability to lie under Casey's scrutinizing gaze. If he asked her the wrong question, she knew he'd figure out that she was hiding something.

"I'll have your back with Beckman, but you have to let me know. What are we up against? Is Wu an enemy agent? Fulcrum?"

Anna breathed a sigh of relief. That, she could answer without worry of being found out as a liar.

"No," she said. "She's not an enemy. She's just really confused. And desperate."

Both things were absolutely true. Sarah was insanely desperate. That was clear in Sarah's voice, even before her actions proved her desperation. And she was confused. Sarah was not only willing, but was a proponent of their switch becoming permanent. A woman who would so willingly give up her own identity was clearly confused, at least in Anna's eyes.

Not that she didn't enjoy being Sarah Walker for a little while. It was fun at first. Almost like a really elaborate cosplay. But Anna would never give up her own person forever, no matter how much more exciting her life would be as someone else.

"Hmm," Casey grunted. "Well, that makes things easier." He paused. "And harder."

"Harder?" Anna asked.

"Well, if she's not an enemy, and she doesn't pose a real threat, we can't just shoot her."

Anna's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. Shoot? Casey would maybe shoot her body, if there was a threat posed? Because Sarah would most certainly pose a threat. Already, she'd shown she was willing to go to any lengths to keep things as they were. And if Casey shot Sarah, then Anna wouldn't have a body to go back to. And there was no telling how a death would screw things up. Would Sarah actually die, or would Anna die, or would no one die, leaving two souls trapped in one body.

Anna didn't want any of those things to happen.

"I don't think anyone needs to get shot," she said defensively.

Casey shrugged. "Never know," he said.

"I do know!" Anna responded. "I know you won't have to shoot Sar—Anna."

Casey looked at her oddly, no doubt because she'd almost called who he thought was Anna, Sarah. She had to change the subject, and fast.

"Let's go," Anna said. "We can't let her cause anymore damage."

Anna explained to Casey that her phone had been stolen in the previous night's assault, and he let her borrow his to make a couple of calls. She excused herself to the room with all the guns so she could talk in private, as Casey started combing over pictures from local traffic cameras.

First, she tried to call Sarah. Tried Sarah's phone, and her own. Neither call got an answer, but then, Anna wasn't really expecting one. But it was worth a shot.

Next, she called Chuck.

"Casey?" he answered.

"No Chuck, it's me."

"Oh, hey Ann-Sarah," he said.

So, he still believed Sarah's story. To Chuck's credit, what he was believing was the truth. Still, it didn't make Anna's job any easier.

"Chuck, has Anna tried to contact you?"

"Anna?" Chuck said, his voice cracking just a little. "Um, nope, no Anna. Why, did you guys let her go or something?"

Chuck would make a horrible poker player, Anna decided. How someone so bad at lying had become a spy was beyond her. But maybe that's why he had to stay in the van when they were on a mission.

She knew she couldn't believe anything he was saying. Clearly Sarah had been in contact with him, and he was on her side.

Anna was tempted to appeal to Chuck's humanity, to admit that, yes, she was Anna Wu, and that she just wanted her own body, her own life back. Chuck was a good guy. Surely he would see things clearly. Or at least, he wouldn't be as blinded by desperation Sarah was. But she decided against that. If she was wrong, and Chuck stood by Sarah and her decision to stay as she was, he might tip Sarah off, and that would make things even more difficult. And Anna really didn't want Casey to shoot anyone.

"Okay," she said. She'd give Chuck his horribly executed lie. "Well if you hear anything, just let us know, okay?"

That, Anna figured, would give Chuck an out in case he decided to help her instead of Sarah.

"I will," Chuck said. Though Anna wasn't counting on him following through on that promise.

"Be careful, Chuck," she said. And that, Anna meant, in so many ways. He needed to be careful not to get in the middle of what was about to go on. At least not anymore than he already was. She genuinely liked Chuck, and didn't want to see him hurt. Physically or otherwise.

"You, too," he answered.

His concern even sounded sincere. Which, Anna figured, it probably was. If anyone knew how dangerous Sarah Walker could be, it was Chuck. And now Sarah Walker was backed into a corner. Things could go really bad, and Anna knew it. But she didn't have to tell Chuck that.

"Walker," Anna heard Casey shouting from the other room.

After another quick moment of reflection, she answered him.

"You find something?" she asked, walking back into the spy base's main hall.

"Yeah," he said. "And before you see it, I just want you to reflect on how adamant you were that no one get shot."

Anna was intrigued. What could Sarah have done that, if it was Anna, would so incite her? Was there an image of her making out with Chuck? Doing other stuff with Chuck? Killing someone close to Sarah?

"Just show me," she said.

Without another word, Casey hit a button and spun his chair so he could see her reaction as an image popped up on the screen. It was from a traffic camera. The car was a black Porsche, and behind the wheel was Sarah.

Anna was momentarily confused. Why was she supposed to be upset about—

Oh. Sarah was no doubt highly protective of her car.

"That bitch!" Anna said, doing her best to sound angry.

"Relax, Walker. Like you said, she's just confused."

Clearly Casey was trying to goad her into a fury, but Anna wasn't taking the bait. Mostly, because it _was_ Sarah's car, not hers.

"Whatever," she said. "We just need to find her before she hurts someone." _Like Amy, so that I can't perform the ritual to make this all go away, _she added silently.

Casey grunted. "You call the geek?"

No doubt he meant Chuck.

"Chuck said he hasn't seen her," Anna said.

"Yeah, 'cause Bartowski would never lie about some piece of tail he's after. Hell, do you even remember the whole thing with Jill, or have you blocked it from your memory? And by the way Wu was acting…"

Casey just left his comment hanging, but Anna got the gist of it. Apparently Chuck liked to step out on Sarah from time to time. Which, considering they weren't actually dating, Anna couldn't really blame him. She was a little hurt, though. If Chuck was that desperate for just some side action, Sarah had been around for months before she started dating Morgan. Why hadn't he come to her with his needs? Anna would've gladly taken care of him.

But no matter.

"Yeah," she said. "I know, Casey." She didn't, but she knew she should know, if she was Sarah.

"I don't know, Walker, the way he's always running off like this, maybe it's time you went dark."

"Dark?" Anna asked, confused.

"Up top," Casey said.

That clarified nothing, and the confused expression Anna gave him conveyed that.

"Dye your hair, dumbass," Casey said. "The boy has a definite type, and it ain't you, apparently."

"What?" Anna asked, affronted by the accusation for some reason. "Chuck loves Sarah. Um, me," she said.

Casey looked at her queerly. "You're weird today. We should get you checked out when all this is cleared up."

"Right," Anna said. She didn't know how else to answer him.

Casey plopped his elbows on the table and leaned closer to her. "Look, I'm just busting your balls, mostly," he said sincerely.

"I know," Anna said.

"But seriously, it might not be the worst thing if you gave the geek a spin or two around the block. Keep him from running after every skirt he sees. It would be safer for him."

"It's not that simple, Casey," Anna said. Which was true. Not for the reasons he no doubt thought, but the line still worked in either context.

"Pfft," Casey blew out. "Don't give me that crap, Walker," he said. "I know you want that just as much as he does. Hell, you've had to do worse for missions before. A hell of a lot worse. And Bartowski, for all the hell I give him, he's a good man."

"He is," Anna admitted.

"So just tell the brass that you have to take measures to control the asset. That'll keep them off your back, and I'll look the other way for all the lady feelings and crap."

"I—"

Before she could answer, Casey's words started to sink in. There was a way for Sarah to be with Chuck. She didn't have to become someone else to do it. Surely, if she could find a way to let Sarah know, the madness could stop, and Anna could perform the ritual, and everything could go back to the way it was before.

But first, they had to find Sarah.

"Ah-ha," Casey announced. "I got a hit on Wu's phone. We can use GPS to track her movement now." There was a pause as Casey watched the movement on the screen. "She just turned onto North Keystone," he announced.

"I know where she's going," Anna said, as she turned to run up the steps. She didn't even wait for Casey's reply, but by the sound of his clomping footsteps behind her, she knew he was hot on her heels.

They had to get to Amy. Sarah was almost there.

* * *

_A/N: And that's all for now. As I said, things are kind of coming to a pass. I just ask, in advance, that you guys stick with me for this. Things are going to get weird. Yes, even weirder than they are right now. Just tough it out, and hopefully it will all make sense in the end. You guys are awesome. Peace._


	15. The Witch's Lair

_A/N: First of all, my apologies for the delay in getting this chapter out to you. I just ran into a bit of a situation. You see, essentially there were three ways this story could end. Well, more than that. There were infinite ways it could end, probably. But in my mind, I had three endings, and I was struggling on making the decision where I should go. But my trust beta, **Michael66 **gave me some excellent advice, which was to essentially go with my gut. So I did. Thank you sir, for that, and so much more. So that's where we're headed. And as such, the dessent into weirdness begins herein. Enjoy!_

_**Devangel6: **I'm glad you're hooked. But as for those two options, well, suffice it to say, things are not that simple, haha._

_**Alfiem: **Yeah, suspension of disbelief is necessary, but Anna actually had reason to hesitate in telling Casey. If he thinks her crazy, he's less likely to help. And Casey is a sketpic._

_**P.J. Murphy: **Yup. Weirder. WAY weirder. But possibly not as awkward as Casey giving a little "go get him, tiger" speech, haha._

_**Grandetiopaco: **Heh, there's a way out, but we're still getting there. You'll see! _

_**Guest: **Awww, I'm glad you like it. Yeah, I don't like doing things halfway, no matter what the premise, or how ridiculous it seems._

_**Zerectica: **That is a great visual! I love flustered/weirded out Casey. He's so fun! _

_**KryptonitePoison: **Again, suspension of disbelief is neceessary. But as to Sarah getting Chuck in the way described. Keep in mind that she wouldn't actually be manipulating Chuck. She'd just be letting the brass thing she was. Not that it matters. But you'll see. I won't spoil it._

_**Fire From Above: **Well, Casey is a skeptic. I think, if he were completely objective, he'd know something was up. But it's all too weird for him, so he reverts to believing what he wants to believe. Which is kind of a theme for all the characters in this fic, haha._

* * *

**Chapter 15: The Witch's Lair**

Tracking down Amy Madison had been a breeze.

Anna had Amy listed as a contact in her phone, and while she didn't currently look like herself, Sarah still knew all her CIA access codes.

One call to Langley, a few ID checks—which fortunately did not include voice verification—and she knew everything there was to know about the elusive Amy.

Originally from Sunnyvale, Amy Madison, a licensed Wiccan practitioner, had attended UC-Santa Barbara for three semesters, before dropping out, and moving to Burbank, where she ran a work-from-home eBay based business.

But most importantly, to Sarah's cause anyway, Amy lived alone in a one-bedroom flat near Woodbury University. And Amy's location was all that mattered.

So after a quick stop by Anna's apartment (and a little breaking and entering) to change into some clothes that appeared far less threatening than the all-black ensemble she'd worn the previous night, Sarah went to find the woman who essentially held her fate in her magical hands.

Sarah circled through the neighborhood several times, evaluating all of her available escape routes. Her plan to kidnap Amy was time sensitive. After having to activate Anna's phone to get Amy's information and then make the call to the CIA, Casey no doubt had a bead on her location. It wouldn't do to capture Amy and then get caught because she didn't know where she was going.

Then, finally confident that her plan could be executed with minimal risk of capture, Sarah pulled to a halt outside Amy's apartment complex. She turned the car off, and placed both of her hands on the steering wheel. She heaved a deep breath, steeling herself just as she would before any important mission. She closed her eyes and visualized everything going as planned, letting the events to come play out in her mind.

Once she'd let the entire scenario play in her mind, and mentally prepared herself for every eventuality, Sarah opened her eyes. She opened the glove box and pulled out her spare pistol. Hopefully that wouldn't be needed, but it was better to be prepared. And besides, no good spy was ever more than thirty feet from a weapon. And Sarah was an excellent spy, no matter whose body she was in.

"Showtime," she whispered to herself, before opening the door and stepping out into the warm March day, tucking the FN Five-seveN into the waistband of her jeans.

Sarah casually strode to Apartment 1G, where Amy lived. She didn't want to attract any attention if someone saw her approaching, but she figured the neighbors had seen Anna Wu visit Amy on a number of occasions, so walking up to the apartment shouldn't rouse any suspicions.

After checking to make sure there were no onlookers, Sarah knocked on Amy's door.

There was no answer.

Sarah knocked again.

Still no answer.

"Amy," Sarah said loudly, through the door. "I know you're in there."

Sarah heard the shuffling of socked feet on a hardwood floor.

"Um, Anna?" asked the meek voice on the other side of the door. "I thought you were going to come later in the day. Like I asked."

Briefly, Sarah considered lying, and falsely confirming that she was indeed Anna. But this Amy knew what was going on. She probably knew Anna's voice well enough to put two and two together. And it wasn't like she wanted to trick Amy, anyway. That wasn't part of the plan. So she decided to be honest. And if Amy didn't let her in, she'd just kick down her second door in as many days.

"No, it's Anna's friend."

Sarah realized she was playing kind of fast and loose with the word "friend," but it was the easiest way to describe who she was.

"The one that Anna changed places with," Sarah clarified.

Sarah heard the slide of the door being unlocked, and the door opened just a crack as a pair of eyes appeared.

"It's just creepy talking to Anna's body, but not to Anna," Amy mumbled.

"Imagine how I feel," Sarah said. "Can I come in?"

There was a moment of hesitation, but then the door swung the rest of the way open, and Amy stood back, allowing Sarah entrance.

Sarah took a moment to give Anna's mentor a once over.

She was young. Which Sarah already knew from the information she'd gotten Langley to pull, but it was still a bit shocking to look at this supposed master witch who was so obviously younger than Sarah herself. Or at least younger than Sarah's normal body.

There was nothing remarkable about Amy. She was slender, with medium length brown hair, hazel eyes. She was kind of pretty, Sarah guessed, in a very normal way.

_Normal_. That's what Sarah wanted for herself.

"Amy," Sarah said as Amy shut the door. "What has Anna told you about me?"

Amy seemed nervous. Shifty. Sarah wasn't sure if Anna had said too much to her, or if Amy was just naturally a jumpy person. Sarah had heard Anna say something about a mouse while talking to Amy.

"Um," Amy began, not making eye contact with Sarah, "she didn't say much. Just that she tried to help you, and things got kind of messed up."

It was an evasion. That much, Sarah knew. In any case, she didn't have time to properly interrogate Amy at the moment. And if things went as planned, there wouldn't be a need to ever interrogate Amy. As long as she could keep her current identity, Sarah didn't care if Amy knew she used to be a spy. In fact, Sarah realized, that might be the best way to get things moving.

"We're short on time," Sarah said, "so I'll give you the short version. Yes, Anna messed up, but for more reasons than you probably know. Amy, I work for the CIA—"

"The CIA?" Amy asked disbelievingly. "Where's your badge?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "CIA operatives don't have badges," she said. Which was true. She didn't actually have a badge that identified her as CIA. Although, because of her current assignment, she had been granted a Homeland Security badge, to prevent interference from local law enforcement, but that was a long and convoluted explanation that Sarah didn't feel like going through at that moment.

"Then how do I know you're telling the truth?"

Sarah sighed. There was only one thing she could think of that would prove she was CIA. Well, it wouldn't really prove she was CIA, but it would most certainly prove that she meant business.

"You don't have to believe me," she said. Then reaching behind her back, Sarah pulled her firearm on Amy. "But you might want to listen anyway."

Amy's eyes went wide with fear. It was evident, to Sarah at least, that this was a person who was not used to being held at gunpoint. In fact, it was probably a first.

"Whu-what do you w-want?" Amy stammered, holding her hands in the air.

"As I was saying," Sarah said, "I'm with the CIA, and Anna has stumbled into something dangerous. I need you to come with me until this can all be sorted out."

"B-but—"

"This isn't negotiable, Amy," Sarah said.

"But I—"

"Please, just come with me and don't make this difficult," Sarah pleaded. She really didn't want the situation to get ugly. And the last thing she wanted was to start her life with Chuck by hurting another person. She was pretty sure Chuck would never forgive her for that.

"I—just let me grab a few things," Amy begged.

"Fine," Sarah grumbled. She nodded her assent to Amy's demand, but didn't put her weapon away. "But make it quick. We need to move."

Sarah knew Casey was, no doubt, bearing down on her position. If she didn't get Amy out, and quick, all her planning could go awry. But as desperate as she was, she wasn't going to be unfair. She was pulling a woman out of her home. The least she could do was to allow Amy to collect a few personal effects.

Amy slowly walked backward toward what Sarah guessed was her bedroom. The witch never took her eyes off of Sarah until she disappeared behind the bedroom door.

Sarah heard the sound of a few dresser drawers being opened, and a bag being unzipped.

"How long will we be gone?" Amy shouted from the other room.

"Shouldn't be too long," Sarah answered. "If everything goes right, we should have you home by tomorrow."

There was a pause in the noise coming from the other room. Then Amy answered.

"Okay, so I'll just need a few things."

For a few things, it seemed as though it was taking an excessively long time.

"Hurry up in there!" Sarah demanded.

"Just a second," Amy replied. "Almost done."

"Almost done" apparently meant three more minutes, Sarah found. Three more minutes that Casey could be moving in on her location. But finally, Amy emerged from the bedroom, having slipped into a sweatshirt, with a duffel bag thrown over her shoulder.

"Okay, we can go now," Amy said.

"Good," Sarah said. "We need to move fast. We're both in dang—"

Sarah was interrupted by the sound of a buzzing coming from Amy's pocket. Amy reached into her jeans and pulled out a phone.

"I have to take this," Amy said, studying the display.

"There's no—"

"It's my boyfriend, Taco. I need to tell him where I'm going."

Taco? Seriously? But more importantly…

"No!" Sarah said. "Don't answer. It's safer if he doesn't know."

Amy ignored Sarah's advice, and answered the call. Dammit, that line of reasoning always worked on Chuck.

"Hey," Amy said into the phone. "Look, I have to cancel our lunch." A pause. "Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. It's just, something important came up." Amy listened again. "I really want to see you, too, but I can't get out of this." Whatever this Taco said, caused a rueful smile to spread across Amy's face. "Yeah, I'm really under the gun on this one."

Sarah's patience had worn out. Not only was this Amy not listening, but now she was giving hints that she was being held at gunpoint.

"Okay, that's enough," Sarah barked. "End the call."

Whether it was the tone Sarah used to give her demand, or the gun she still had pointed at Amy, Amy listened this time, and hit a button on the screen to end her call before slipping the phone back into her pocket.

"Good," Sarah said. "Now let's go."

Just as Sarah made that decree and started to the door, the door swung open revealing John Casey, his Sig Sauer held before him and at the ready. Behind him stood Anna, looking resolved, if a little fearful.

Sarah nearly panicked. Her plan was crumbling around her. Casey wasn't supposed to get to Amy's in time. She should've been out of there with Amy in tow long before he arrived. But no, she had to be polite and let Amy take her sweet time. As much as she loved Chuck, he was proving to be a bad influence on her.

"Drop the gun, Walker," Casey demanded.

It took a moment for Sarah to process what he said. He called her Walker. That meant Anna had confessed the truth to him. And more importantly, that meant he'd believed it.

"Good job stalling her, Amy," Anna said from behind Casey's back.

Sarah wheeled around on her would-be hostage. "You? You set me up?"

Still clearly terrified, Amy just shrugged.

"I said put the gun down, Sarah. You don't want to do this."

Sarah faced Casey again, not lowering her weapon. "But I do!" she said, almost manic. "I do want to do this, Casey. I have to. It's the only way."

Casey's eyes narrowed. "Look, I know you think you're doing the right thing here, but you're not. So put the weapon down, and let's talk about this like calm, rational, _sane_ adults."

He'd clearly put the "sane" part in for his own benefit. A confirmation to himself that he wasn't losing his mind.

But despite his pleas, Sarah's mind was made up. She was going to walk out the door with Amy, and hide until her current "curse" became permanent.

She knew Casey wouldn't shoot her unless she attacked him, and she wasn't stupid enough to try that. Instead, she moved quickly across the room, roughly grabbing Amy and using her as a human shield.

Sarah pressed her gun against Amy's skull, and stood on her tiptoes to look over her captive's shoulder.

"Don't do something you'll regret, Walker," Casey said, taking a step towards her and Amy.

"Then don't make me do something I'll regret," Sarah spat.

At first, Sarah thought it was just the tension of the moment getting to her, but she quickly realized there was some type of energy running through Amy's body. Almost like an electric current flowing through the witch's veins.

"Adhuc!" Amy shouted.

It felt like someone had suddenly tied her up. Sarah couldn't move. At all. Her gun clattered to the floor, and Sarah stood stock still, paralyzed by something. Probably the energy that was just running through Amy's body.

"What'd you do to her?" Casey asked, refocusing his aim on Amy.

Amy shrugged. "It's not permanent or anything. But she'll be immobilized as long as we need her to be."

"Why didn't you just do that from the beginning," Casey asked.

Amy looked affronted. "Magic is not a toy, Mr…"

"Casey," Casey supplied. "Major John Casey, National Security Agency."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said. "But unlike some other present company, I try not to employ magic unless it's necessary. It's disrespectful. Now, Anna?"

Anna shyly emerged from behind Casey, and stood with her hands behind her back, her eyes cast down to the floor.

"Yes, Amy?"

"Why was this woman trying to shoot me?"

"I wasn't trying to shoot you! If I was, you'd already be dead!" Sarah growled as she struggled against her invisible binds.

Amy looked at Sarah for a brief moment, then turned her gaze back to Anna. "That doesn't change the question. Why was she so upset that she'd pull a gun on me?"

"Um," Anna said, still not looking Amy in the eye. "Well, she wasn't very happy about the whole switching back thing."

"What? You gave me the impression that she was upset about switching places to begin with. Now you're telling me she wants to stay like she is?"

"It's all kind of complicated," Anna said. "You see, she was mad at me for doing it to begin with, but then she realized that—well there's this guy—"

Amy held up a hand to stop Anna's rambling. "You know what, you don't have to explain it to me," she said.

"But I just thought you'd want to know what was—"

"No," Amy said. "You don't have to explain it to _me_. You have to explain it to _Them_."

Anna swallowed nervously. Sarah wasn't sure who "Them" was, but it clearly scared Anna.

"But that's not—"

"You're not a beginner anymore, Anna," Amy sighed. "You know that magic does _not_ exist to serve you."

"I'm merely a vessel through which magic flows," Anna mumbled.

No doubt a mantra Amy, being Anna's teacher, had drilled into her student many times, by the sound of it. Sarah understood that relationship. It was like her favorite trainer back at The Point, who made Sarah repeat every day that she couldn't beat intel out of every person of interest she came into contact with.

"That's right," Amy said, nodding. "Now, it's time this was all made right."

Amy took Anna's hand, and led her over to Sarah. Using her other hand, Amy grabbed Sarah's paralyzed left hand, and gestured for Anna to do the same with the right.

"No!" Sarah shouted. "Please don't take this from me."

"All will be made right soon," Amy said, which didn't make Sarah feel at all better.

Sarah felt a similar surge of energy as she had when Amy bound her with magic, then she watched as Amy's eyes turned black. Amy said but one phrase.

"Mittere ad ultra."

Then Sarah's world went black.

* * *

_A/N: Thank you again to **Michael66 **for taking the time to beta this for me. Lord knows he had plenty to correct. Also, for any magic aficionados out there, I feel I should put in a disclaimer for the way magic is treated in this story. I have a rough backstory in my head as to the magic in this universe, but it's based off of so many different things that I don't know if I could fully explain it to anyone. Just believe me when I say I have a plan. A good one? Well that's for you to decide, not me! Also, come next chapter, I bring the weird, so be ready. You guys are awesome. Peace. _


	16. Beyond Comprehension

_A/N: Wow, this chapter took longer than I'd anticipated. I promise I wasn't being lazy, guys. And it wasn't writers' block or anything. It's just, I had this image in my head of how this chapter should look, and how it should unfold, and I couldn't make it come to be. I wrote three different versions before I finally got one that I was semi-satisfied with. Then I sent it off to my beta buddy **Michael66 **and he pointed out some more stuff that I needed to work on (thanks so much, by the way. The chapter is WAY better now). Also, you guys remember how I said things were going to get weird? Well, prepare for the weird. It is finally in full bloom in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it! _

_**JustMyLuckiness: **I'm so glad you finally gave this little story a chance. Granted, it's certainly different than almost anything you'll see in the fandom, and I can understand your reticence in reading it, I'm glad you did, and even gladder that you're digging it! _

_**Zerectica: **Oh, my Z. Heh, yeah, shrugging is kind of a staple of our girls in this story. And Casey!? MY head is hurting trying to wrap my mind around all of this, haha._

_**JS-Fan: **Glad you dug the chapter!_

_**KryptonitePoison: **Like I said, the weird is now upon us. And a magical spy? My goodness! That would be unfair. But thoroughly entertaining._

_**Guest: **What does it say about you that you just want Sarah to have what she wants? It says that you're a LOT like me. I have to fight that impulse in every Chuck fic I've ever written! _

_**TioPaco: **Casey knows, but he still doesn't want to believe it. And he may be a bit worried that he's going nucking futs. _

_**P.J. Murphy: **Sarah was in desperation mode. And more than a bit arrogant. But that's our Sarah. When she gets desperate, she makes mistakes. _

_**Alfiem: **Haha, well I hope you're still looking forward to it. "Sort of" or not. Thanks for the review!_

_**Fire From Above: **Sarah was arrogant. And she wasn't really paying attention. She wasn't that worried about Amy stabbing her in the back. All she was thinking about was keeping Amy away from Anna, and avoiding Casey._

* * *

**Chapter 16: Beyond Comprehension**

The sky was red. That was the first hint Anna had that she wasn't in Burbank anymore.

When she opened her eyes, she was face down in what appeared to be some type of ancient gladiator arena. Only, instead of sand, the floors of the theater were polished marble, that sparkled under the red sky.

Anna sat up, and tried to get a better handle on her surroundings. There was the strange auditorium, the even stranger red sky, and next to her, doing a similar inventory of their predicament was Sarah Walker.

Only, it wasn't Sarah Walker in Anna's body. It was the _real_ Sarah Walker. The body Anna had lived in over the past two days. And Sarah seemed to be just as weirded out by the stupid red sky.

"Where are we?" Sarah asked.

Anna wasn't sure. The last thing she remembered, she was at Amy's, linked with Amy and Sarah, and Amy had cast a spell, and suddenly, she was in this strange place, in a familiar body, and the magic that she usually felt pulsing through her veins was now clouding the atmosphere. Wait, if everything around her was magic…

It hit Anna like a ton of bricks. She knew exactly where she was.

"This is _The Beyond_," she said hauntingly.

"The—I'm sorry, where? And also, why am I back in my body? Was that the ritual that needed to be done? Seemed a little quick."

"One at a time," Anna said, taking her head in her hands as she attempted to absorb all of Sarah's questions. "Anyway, we're in The Beyond. It's the place where dreams originate. The spiritual plane where the souls of both the living and the dead exist. And you're not back in your body, only our spirits can walk here. We're not actually physical beings right now."

"That doesn't make any sense," Sarah said.

"Because you don't feel the energy," Anna answered. "This is the realm I draw my magical abilities from. Being able to touch The Beyond is what separates a magical being from someone who, well, isn't magic."

"So you've been here before?" Sarah asked.

"Well, not in a conscious state. I touch this realm every second of every day. And I've been here in my dreams, but then, so have you."

"I want to say that still doesn't make sense," Sarah said. "But then, I spent the past two days trapped in your body, so I guess none of this really makes any sense."

"True enough," Anna said.

"So, if we're not physical beings here, then I could punch you in the face, and it wouldn't hurt?" Sarah asked.

Anna rolled her eyes. "It would hurt," she said. "You just can't do any damage to my physical being here. But if you were to die here, it would cut you off form The Beyond forever. Which, for you means no dreams, but for me, it would mean no magic."

"But if our souls are here, and our bodies are back in Burbank, I take it?"

"Well it's not actually our souls that are here. The souls of the dead travel to The Beyond, but because our souls are still tethered to our bodies, only our consciousness is here," Anna said. "That's why you could feasibly die here without doing any lasting damage to yourself.

Sarah shook her head side to side, which Anna took as a sign that she still wasn't fully grasping the situation. Which Anna completely understood. Aside from a bunch of quotes from the books Amy made her read, Anna didn't know exactly how it worked either. Not that she'd tell Sarah that.

"You seem to know a lot about this place," Sarah said, as she finally began to stand.

Anna followed suit, getting to her feet. "Amy," she said. "Amy made me read this giant book—there wasn't even a PDF of it so I could read it electronically, I had to read an ancient tome—and it was all about The Beyond."

"And dead people live here?" Sarah asked.

"Well, not live, but—"

"You know what I mean," Sarah said, slightly annoyed.

"Yes, the souls of the dead are in this realm," Anna said.

"Including all the people I've killed? Because I really don't want to run into any of them again, if possible."

"They're here, too," Anna said. "How many people _have _you killed?"

Sarah didn't answer, and a silence fell between them for a moment as they both continued to observe their surroundings.

"So," Sarah said, her face contorting in confusion, "this is like heaven or something?"

Anna chuckled. "Or something," she said.

"So where is this place located?" Sarah asked.

Anna blew out a frustrated breath. She understood why Sarah couldn't grasp the concept of a spiritual realm. Anna herself barely understood it, and she'd been forced to study the idea extensively. She decided the best explanation she could offer was to quote the book she'd read on the subject.

"It's located nowhere, and everywhere. Before, during, and after all time. Just beyond the veil of mortal existence, and so beyond the grasp of mortals that it can't be stumbled upon."

"Sounds like a load of crap," Sarah pointed out.

"Maybe," Anna said, shrugging. "So where do _you _think we are?"

Sarah began to chew on her bottom lip in contemplation, but she didn't say anything.

"Right," Anna said, in answer to her own question.

"Well how did we get here, then?" Sarah asked. "And why? What are we supposed to do?"

It wasn't until that moment that Anna realized she and Sarah had come full circle from the previous night.

While on a mission, Anna was completely out of her element. She was lost, and scared, and didn't know what was going on around her. And in her moment of weakness, she'd relied on Sarah to get her through.

Now, they were involved in something magical. It was Anna's world, and she knew it. Sarah, on the other hand, was scared (even if she wouldn't say as much), and lost, and didn't know what was going on around her.

It would be nice to return Sarah's favor. Anna didn't like owing anyone.

"Amy sent us here," Anna said calmly. "As for why, I guess we'll figure it out."

"You mean this wasn't part of your plan to switch us back to our old bodies?" Sarah asked.

Anna shook her head. "No, not at all. I wasn't expecting this."

Sarah looked around the empty theater. "Well is something going to happen, or—"

As if on queue, an earth-shattering, otherworld shriek filled the air, and shook the very ground beneath Anna's feet. Ignoring any previous disagreements, Anna and Sarah took hold of one another, using each other for support.

Anna looked up into the sky, in the direction of the wail that had just ripped through the air, and saw what she'd feared most.

"It's a freaking dragon!" Sarah shouted.

Anna shook her head. "It just looks like a dragon," she said.

And it did. A large, snouted head gave way to a long, majestic neck, which was attached to an enormous body, four strong, taloned legs, and a fierce, spiked tail. All of that, covered in reddish, or maybe violet scales.

As if the non-dragon was arguing against Anna, the beast growled again as it flew in a slow circle around them, this time letting fire pour from its mouth. A fire that blew right over Anna and Sarah's head, knocking the two women to the ground, even as they felt the heat pass over them.

"Okay, fine," Anna huffed. "It breathes fire like a dragon, too."

"Looks like a dragon, breathes fire like a dragon. How is this not a dragon?" Sarah asked.

"It's, well, it's hard to explain, but that's—okay, first I need to tell you— "

"What the _hell_ is it, Anna?" Sarah asked bluntly.

"That's one of the old gods."

"Old _what!?" _

Just as Sarah finished her question, the creature swooped down out of the sky, seemingly set on a collision course with the two cowering women. But before it could land on them, something started to change.

The beast's legs shortened rapidly, and its tail shrank into non-existence. The long neck retracted, and the face became smaller, and rounder.

Right before them, dragon became man. Or _wo_man, in this case. The last bit of metamorphosis—the scaly, purple skin smoothing, and lightening to a brilliant ivory tone—taking place just as the goddess's feet lightly touched to the ground before them.

The womanly form of this old goddess was stunning. She was tall. Six feet, easy. Long, lean legs led up to an almost impossibly slender waist, which eventually became an incredibly large bust. It was almost like she was a living (or immortal, as the case was) Barbie doll. She had long, flowing silver hair that fell in soft waves over her shoulder, and down her back, with violet highlights that seemed to recreate the ears and horns she'd had as a dragon. Her easy curls framed a sharp, angular face that would have seemed unyieldingly harsh if it wasn't so beautiful.

The red sky contrasted greatly against her perfect, pale skin, which was on full display, as the robe she wore barely protected any modesty.

"Mortals," the goddess said.

The accent was English. Aristocratic, at that. But the accent didn't matter. Just the power from a single word falling from the lips of the goddess was enough to make Anna's entire body break out in goose-flesh, and the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"It has been centuries since I've seen any of your kind."

"Who are you?" Sarah demanded.

Anna grabbed her companion, and clapped a hand over her mouth, afraid Sarah had offended the heavenly creature in front of them.

But the goddess merely laughed. A deep, throaty chuckle.

"I am Urzara. Goddess of Chaos."

Anna sunk to a knee before the fallen deity. "Goddess Urzara—"

Before Anna could pledge her allegiance, Urzara interrupted her.

"Stand mortal," she said. "I am not here to seek your worship. I am here…"

Her voice trailed off, as she appraised Sarah.

"And it is your friend, after all, who is the reason you are here. Is that not true?"

"Well, she—"

"Silence!"

Anna took a step back, feeling like a scolded child, and cast her eyes down at the ground.

"Tell me, child, why is it you've come before me?"

Sarah didn't answer the question. But then, Anna knew she didn't have to. Urzara, no doubt, already knew what was going on. She was a goddess. She could read Sarah's thoughts as easily as a human would read a book.

Anna watched as the goddess's face darkened.

"I see. You feel as though you were given something. Given a better life, and now it is being torn away from you."

Sarah still didn't say anything, but she replied by nodding.

"And you!"

Urzara wheeled around to face Anna, fire burning in her eyes.

"We gave mankind the gift of magic, to be guarded and practiced by a select few. It is not a game. It is not intended to be used for your amusement."

"But I—"

"Silence!"

Once again, Anna obeyed, and shut her mouth.

"I see no way for this to be made to go away easily," Urzara said. She began to pace, back and forth. "But because you were wronged, and because it was the magic my sisters and I have provided your kind that was used to do you harm, I will allow you to decide how this is handled."

Sarah looked thoughtfully at Urzara. "I don't know what to ask for," she said.

Again, Urzara laughed. "There is a man, is there not? A man you are charged with protecting."

"His name is Chuck," Sarah said.

"Indeed," Urzara said. "And you fear that this Chuck could never love you for who you are. You wish to be someone different for him."

"Well, it's not that simple. If—well, because I have to protect Chuck, I can't love him. Not like he deserves."

"And you want to love him as you think he deserves?" Urzara asked.

"I guess," Sarah said, shrugging. "I don't know."

Anna was confused. No, confused wasn't even the word. She was flabbergasted. Sarah had been willing to steal Anna's body to be with Chuck, but she wasn't willing to admit her desires to a being who could actually grant that wish?

"Oh, but you do know," Urzara said. "You live in your mind, child. It is your thoughts that get in the way of your truest desires. But your heart already knows. And it is your heart's wishes that will be fulfilled."

Sarah's true desires frightened Anna. Sarah had done everything in her power to steal Anna's identity right from under her.

True, Anna had initiated the switch to begin with. And it's not like she hadn't had fun being Sarah Walker for a little while. A lot of fun, in fact. A little scary, what with all the almost getting shot, but still fun. And so much more exciting and fulfilling than working for the Nerd Herd at the Buy More.

But that didn't matter. Did it? She was Anna Wu. She was a Nerd Herder. She practiced magic in her spare time, she was a hacker goddess, she could defend herself in a fight, but she wasn't a spy. And she was perfectly happy with her boring life. No, that wasn't right. She wasn't bored!

"Oh, little one."

Anna's attention was brought back to the goddess before her.

"Your heart was in the right place," Urzara said. "It pleases me that you will be served by this decision as well."

"Wait," Anna said. "What does that—"

"It is done."

With her final words, Urzara exploded into a brilliant bloom of light. And once again, Anna's world went dark.

* * *

_A/N: No, I'm not going to end the story with a giant cliffhanger. So there will be one more mini-chapter. Maybe you call it an epilogue. I'm not exactly sure if that's how I want to phrase it or not. But it will wrap everything up. Anyway, hopefully everyone is still interested in the end. You guys are awesome. Peace._


	17. The Gods Must Be Crazy

**Chapter 17: The Gods Must Be Crazy**

Anna started awake.

She sat up frantically and tried to figure out where she was. It took only a moment for everything to sink in and become familiar.

She was in her own bed, in her own room, no one was around to threaten her, and sunlight was pouring in through the crack in her green drapes.

It must have been a nightmare. Strange. She hadn't woken herself up with a nightmare in years. And to make it even more odd, she didn't remember what it was about.

Anna sighed and swung her legs off the bed. As long as she was up, she figured getting an early start to the day wouldn't be a bad idea.

She padded barefoot over to her full-length mirror, and took herself in.

"I may be getting too buff," she said.

Anna had always been in good shape, even as a child. But with the influx of giants in her life—Chuck, Casey, and Sarah Walker in particular—Anna always felt kind of small. So she worked out. A lot. It had become practically her only hobby.

It wasn't like she had much else to do. She hadn't been on a proper date in so long, it almost hurt to think about. There was a time when she had even begun to harbor feelings of lust or something for her asset.

When the operation began—after Anna's former partner and Chuck's ex-girlfriend Jill Roberts sent the Intersect to Chuck, Anna established a cover as Chuck's new girlfriend. So her life, for the first three months on her current mission was filled with kissing and cuddling with a really cute guy, and getting no payoff. That made her very glad that she was a woman, lest her balls would've been as blue as the sky.

Anna had even considered jumping Zondra's bones when she came to town to run an op with Team Bartowski, but decided against it. Zondra was too emotional, and the last thing Anna needed was a needy ex screwing up the chemistry she'd developed with her team.

Then Chuck started dating the Fro-Yo girl, and even the kissing and cuddling had stopped. Anna had been completely against the new relationship from the start. But Chuck was persistent—as always—and in the end, and after a very thorough background check, Sarah Walker had become a part of the equation.

Of course, that background would eventually come up to almost bite the team in the ass, when Sarah's con-man father came into town. But even then, Anna, Casey, and Chuck had managed to turn it into a win.

And Anna had to admit, Sarah wasn't all bad. If life had worked out differently for her, she would've made an excellent spy. Just from the few times she'd (against Chuck's wishes) joined the team on a mission, Anna knew that to be true. And Sarah wasn't bad to look at, either. In fact, if Chuck ever screwed things up with the leggy blonde…

Anna shook her head as if to clear her thoughts.

"No," she said to herself. "Stop it."

But impure thoughts about her asset's girlfriend was only more evidence that she really needed some kind of physical release.

There was Chuck's friend Morgan, who was _always_ hitting on her. After the fake breakup, of course. And especially after he found out she was a spy. Maybe bedding the beard wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

Nah, she'd pass.

* * *

Sarah awoke with the biggest smile on her face.

She felt warm. She felt loved. She felt complete.

Slowly, she cracked her eyes open and found a still sleeping Chuck lying right next to her. Or under her, to be more accurate. At some point during the night, she'd apparently decided to drape herself across him.

It was strange. She didn't remember Chuck being there when she'd fallen asleep. She wasn't at all disappointed in the surprise.

"Chuck," she whispered against his ear. "Are you awake?"

"Noooo," he said.

Sarah propped herself up on her elbow, and looked down at Chuck.

"You are, too. You answered me."

Chuck groaned. "Well I am now," he said.

"Good," Sarah said. "Why were you so late last night?"

"Work," Chuck said, still not opening his eyes.

"Were you the on-call Herder last night?" Sarah asked.

"Other work," Chuck said, finally cracking open one eye, and rolling on his side to face Sarah.

Sarah sighed. She _hated_ Chuck's _other work. _But at least since she'd been brought into the loop, Chuck had stopped lying to her all the time. And their relationship had never been stronger. Plus, every now and then, she'd get to go along for the ride, which added a little excitement to her life.

"Not thinking of leaving me for your handler, are you?" Sarah teased.

They joked about that often. At first, Sarah had been jealous of Anna. But then, she thought Anna was a legitimate ex-girlfriend. Once she learned the truth about her boyfriend's other life, and that his relationship with Anna had never been more than a cover, she'd actually started to think of the spy as a friend. After all, it was Anna's protection that allowed Chuck to come home to Sarah every night.

"Of course not," Chuck said. "Anna would be willing to share."

Sarah laughed and playfully punched Chuck on the arm. Then a thought occurred to her, and her expression fell flat.

"I do feel sad for her," Sarah said.

Chuck looked confused. "What? Why?"

"Chuck!" Sarah said. "Think about her life. She _has_ to be lonely. She doesn't have anyone."

"Well, I mean—"

"We should set her up with someone," Sarah said, interrupting.

Chuck laughed. "Right, because we know plenty of eligible guys who would make a great match for a jet-setting spy."

Sarah ignored Chuck's dismissal. She chewed on her bottom lip as she thought over all the guys she knew who _might_ be good for Anna. Or at least be a good distraction for the diminutive spy.

Sarah's face lit up as an idea popped into her head.

"Chuck! Whatever happened to your old roommate? What was his name? Bryce?"

Chuck's forehead crinkled in contemplation.

"Oh, wow," he said. "I haven't thought about—I think he's an accountant or something."

* * *

Bryce Larkin straightened his fedora as he casually walked down Park Avenue, having just completed another successful job. He didn't want to be cocky, but it was hard when he was just that good.

He felt a buzzing inside of his coat pocket, which was odd. He'd gotten rid of his burner cell, and there were very few people in the world that knew how to reach him on his personal line.

He pulled the phone out and was surprised to hear a voice he hadn't heard in years.

"Chuck Bartowski? Well this is a surprise."

Bryce looked over his shoulder. He wasn't safe enough to relax just yet.

"Chuck? Yeah man, I'm in the middle of something right now. Can I call you back?"

He was not an accountant.

He was not a spy.

Bryce Larkin was a step-and-a-half ahead of the FBI. And he intended to stay that way.

**_THE END_**

* * *

_Final Disclaimer: Now that we're done, let me reiterate that I am not being paid for this work, and I have no claim of ownership to Chuck, Freaky Friday, Buffy, White Collar, the idea of dragons-as-fallen gods (which I totally got from Dragon Age), or anything else that may have been referenced or written about herein._

_Final A/N: So I just called it a chapter. It was the easiest way. And now it's done._

_First of all, I want to thank everyone that read, reviewed, PMd me, tweeted me, or just gave me and this story any acknowledgement over the years. Yes years. This story is, after all, bordering on three years old. Wow. _

_I know in that time span, our fandom has lost members. Be it to disinterest, changed interests, changed priorities, or whatever. And that's completely understandable. Sad in a way, but understandable._

_I also want to thank Michael66 for proofreading the final five or six chapters. I sometimes cringe at the errors I make when I really get rolling with whatever I'm writing, and it makes me feel infinitely better that someone has found out those errors before the world sees it. And you did an awesome job of that, my friend._

_Also, thanks to MXPW. When I first started this story, way back when, he was the one that heard my ideas, and helped me shape them. I don't think he reads my stuff anymore, but that's okay. I still want to thank him._

_And a thank you to Zerectica. Z, you are a doll, and thank you for your support of Anna, and of this story. You rock! _

_And again, to all of my readers, so much love I can't begin to describe it. You guys are awesome. Peace._


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